G'day all

Not sure if the people who used to talk to me here are even still around been so long.
Yeah been a long time since I have been here! Couldn't even remember my username or password! though my DD says thats due to age.

We are all up because I am still on the other place hours having trouble adjusting right now and the girls, wife, DD, future DIL, niece are all trying on dress, after dress, after dress, after dress for a party on Saturday. Unbelievable yes that dress does make your [censored] look fat EEK DID i SAY THAT ALOUD?

You know you're old when you get on the bus with your wife and some young school girl around 16 or so, its hard to tell these days, promptly stands up and says "Here mate you can have this seat."
Just because my hairs gone a bit white and I have a few bruises over me, well I admit they look a lot yellowish on my arms and face but thats part of the deal. Yes of course I took the bloody seat!! Resigned to the new image, not stupid. Anyway I got my wife to sit on my lap which got us a few hoots from the crowd telling her to look after her soldier. Beet red she got. I thought it was funny at least.

My youngest son is just 6 ( he was a nice surprise from those days of mad making up ) and he just started talking to the girl who gave me the seat. Talk about the gift of the gab. I don't know why the wife rolled her eyes at me I was always the shy retiring type.

How quickly the years have gone by. My daughter is married to a soldier, my son is an officer and engaged, my niece is getting engaged (formally) this Saturday AND I get to be the man her bloke gets the ok from - its a Irish family tradition.

Her dad, one of my best mates is divorcing his wife, my wifes sister, to shack up with a marriage killing life sucking heap of slag and he's happily wallowing in the diseased excrement, and my niece told him to go you know where, he's not invited. She's even paid to have security on the doors to stop him.

My lovely wife said go on love tell them how you feel then, well I have. My niece and DD have taken to MB quite a bit for marriage advice, got the books on it and all. They are thick as thieves and more like sisters than cousins, OMG they are the Veronicas, now I should worry. They need kids to tie them down if you ask me. Twins would be nice. well I don't have to have them so its ok.

So after all this time I just thought I should tell everyone just how much our marriage and our lives turned around after my wifes affair. I think without doubt it was the worst time in our lives, our kids lives, the whole family in fact. Yes worse in some ways than our sons death. Honestly it was. Never thought I would admit that. I guess all of you BS, men or women understand that one.

Very hard to honestly say our marriage is better or not than before the affair as in those last few months before the affair it was pretty crap time for us when our then youngest son died. Just tore us all apart and none of us did very well in handling it. Of course getting deployed at the time didn't help any. My wife really really hated me back then. You know with some hindsight I guess I was running away from the pain and loss of our son I should have been there for her and the other kids. I guess that there are some things we all run from one time or another.

You would not believe the work she put into making our marriage work or maybe giving our marriage a new start is a better way to put it and getting me to work with her on it. I'm not exactly the easiest bloke in the world to get along with. Amazing the things we talk about now, how we say what we feel or how to approach an issue or problem. I hesitate to use a wuzzy word like gentle. So I won't Can you believe we hold hands like teenagers walking down the street ? Fun though especially all the strange looks we get.

Whenever we go out as a family my DD ends up telling us for cripes sake you two go get a room! Now theres an idea!!!!!!
But thats ok as our kids can see, they went throught it as well, its not just some half arsed theory, that you can get through anything TOGETHER if you both want it hard enough to work at it.

We are as happy as Larry these days, even if most of the few minor arguments these days still finds I'm in the wrong, usually about everything. I'm a bloke I'm used to it. That mostly happens during the post deployment periods like now. Yeah hard to get along with. My darling wife just said that was an understatement!

My wonderful passionate wife has the patience of Job. Well as she tells EVERYONE, with me she needs it. Ok yeah it true. She just never ever gave up on us, even when I was ready to chuck it in and walk. Well yeah I'm a stubborn [censored].

Did I say how much I love her and how proud I am of her? She is a keeper.

I tell you the best, the BEST, sight for me arriving back in OZ is seeing the light in my wifes eyes, I swear they glow as she sees me walking off the plane and starts yelling and screaming to let me know she's there. When your little boy hugs you starts crying saying Daddy and your wife is clinging to you with everything she has, the other kids are group hugging you, mate thats being HOME.

AUSSIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me big bro down under, welcome home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Never a dull moment once you're around, and that was a mean trick you did at the church. You'd best sleep with one eye open while DD is around.

HIYA NEAKSIS!!!

I would keep an eye out for DD but SIL & I are about 3/4 through a bottle of Irish. Wow did you know he drinks lots? a terrible terrible young man leading me into all sorts of bad things like booze and cards and poker machines.

I thought DD was so funny. Nice to know she still misses her daddy though. AW said she'll protect me. I wonder if I should be worried?

Hope good ol AJ is keeping well. He needs a big inch thick porthouse steak, rare, with mushrooms, red wine and side of chips, or is that me? well he can have one as well

maybe I should go sleep a bit too. Internal clock is out of whack

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Your update was sure timely. There are many good folks on here who will be encouraged to read it, even if they aren't from the prehistoric era like we are. (And Melody Lane is even older than that!)

AJ is keeping well, and we are keeping each other busy. He was sure happy when I told him you're back.

Well try not to have too much fun, especially if you've got that naughty SIL leading you into the paths of dissipation. Give AW a big hug from me, and tell her since your internal clock is out of whack, she needs to take a nap, too. Neak's orders!

You're too funny.

Mom will come on and tell you hello when she can. Dad's been defragging her computer for the first time since the French Revolution, and it's going a little slow. Eventually she'll make it back online, but for right now she's watching the little red and blue lines dancing around.

Congratulations on your newfound love and excitement for each other.

I was NOT watching the little red and blue lines. Your father was watching them; I refuse. I'd rather watch paint dry! Aussie, my dear, DEAR sir! Your last couple of sentences brought tears to my eyes. I'm so glad for how things are turning out for your family, even if your womenfolk DO fret, worry, and turn gray (what? you thought that hair color was REAL?! ) when all of you guys are gone. And living such dull lives away from home, too! z

tl

AUSSIE!!! Boy have I missed you my friend! Give a big hug to little Mikey from his Auntie Faith.

hey thanks all, great to be home I can tell you. Its also great to have a marriage that works that actually is growing, it sort of amazes me. Sort of sit back and pinch myself that its real, besides its fun to spend time together.

Did you know girls smell so much nicer than a load of blokes in stinky gear? Who'd a thought?

Talk about blast from the past, Mel and Pep!! Can't remember are you both from Texas? I met some guys from Texas, sort of gun crazy lock and load blokes, they told me it was to protect themselves from their Texas women!!

I think those gals from Texas are giving my DD ideas. I was watching video this morning of Mikey at school outings, miss seeing that in person, and DD doing her gigs. Oh gotta tell you about one of DD's gig at a pub. She was introducing a song and said "This is about a man who cheats on his wife" steps back then slides back up to the mic again and whispers "KILL HIM" all the women went YEAH!!!! Don't know if she scares the SIL but she scares me!!

Hey faithworker one thing I did learn was do not sweep this stuff under the carpet. No matter what your hubby said 10 years ago or not, affairs do affect the way you think act and consider. Maybe thats why your hubby's boundaries were so loose? Who knows? but one thing you do know, he made the decison as did you to cheat can't blame anyone else for that, you decide you carry the can. When my beautiful wife owned up to that, her decision, no matter what I had done or not done, then we began to recover and click again. It at least gave us a chance.

HI TL!! Good to see your hubby doing the little things for you to ensure your happiness. I would help do the housework here but I am housework challenged.
You mean they dye their hair that colour, deliberately???????
Cripes never understand women.

well off to the medic, again. I think they want to stick needles into me. EEEK

Welcome back Aussie!

So good to have you back home! When is it time to retire? Are you back home for good?

AUNTY FAITH !!

hey sis hope you are doing so fine these days. Wow some of the old gang - not old in years just experience!!

Well medic ok'd me fit as a mallee bull. Blood pressure a bit high but then he said if it wasn't I'd be worried and asked how much blood I had in my alcohol level today but I still get to do a raft of tests anyways.

HIYA NC!!! hope you are doing well real well these days. I've got years to go yet. The other is up to the powers that be Dear wife would like me to do anything other but I didn't join up to run away. The missus doesn't like it but she understands it.

and I have to admit, the adrenaline rush is so out of this world. I love it. Ok maybe that was a love buster? note to self shutup. <--- wifes attitude adjustment tool for opening my big trap.

wife wanting explanation

my response I'm stupid?

did you know shes cute even when shes annoyed at me?

If you keep talking like that, she may decide that ~both~ your jobs should fall under POJA.

Didja see that NCWalker has dropped in for a visit, too?

I just assumed NCW was NC was I right?

went late night shopping, well I went and had Pad Thai while the girls shopped. Again.

Told the missus that she could get whatever she wanted within reason, you know a few $100 at the most. So as I was eating they came back to my table sat down, wife looked at me all smiles, "Found what I want love" she says, "haven't spent a cent yet". I smiled back. I then heard the words that brought me back to earth and almost ruined my night.

"I love you too, Darling. I am going to go online and order the tickets for the ballet soon as we get home!"

OH CRAP

When you said NC, I thought you meant Nerly Crazy. Was I wrong?

Nope, it's probably just you, since you're in the upside-down part of the world. Next thing I know, you'll be telling me it's night-time and almost summer for you.

Wheres NCW these days? NCW drop in I'll go you a beer and some Irish chasers.

Neak it IS daytime and it IS nearly summer, why don't you have proper seasons like us??????? You always are roundabout.

Hey how funny do you think it will be if I tell my nieces bloke he's not good enough for her at the engagement party tomorrow night?

AW and DD and future DIL and sister in law all went troppo , I swear women have no sense of humour sometimes

Some of my and son in laws mates are coming over for a BBQ this arvo, Shanksie, Bluey, Tank, Jimmy, Joe, Figs, Digger, Shano, Andy, Rusty and a few others. Irish, red wine and beer are stocked, wonder if we need any food? oh well thats womens business.

Hey Aussie!!! My ears were burning and I realized it was you! So good to see you back.

G'day to Dame Mel of Texas!!! (yep its a real title folks I think Mels a cubboard royalist )

thanks for the welcome home as it really feels good to be back. Bit noisy though, all the traffic, the people, the missus Hard to get used to again

this thing kept going ding ding, ding ding, then I realised it was the pc email going off. MIL wants me to walk round and take her out in the wheelchair so she can talk to me. Mums a good old cheese.

She'll wanna nag me about drinking too much, smoking cigars, not looking after myself, not going to church and lots of other Irish mothering things. Such an old worrywort see now I know I am home

Hope things are find and dandy in your neck of the woods for you and yours Mel.

I guess you deserve a few good cigars and some beers! Life is good down here in the great state of Texas. Thanks for asking.

Hey, Aussie! It's been too long! Glad you're home and still in one piece!