Day One-Hundred and Twenty-Nine

22 December 2006
I am home!!!! Praise God for such a successful and safe deployment—the last one of the USS Saipan! We have manned the rails. We have heard the cheers from our loved ones. We have waited for the ship to be moored. Now I get to go find my amazing husband in the crowd! I am so thrilled to be home!

Day One Hundred Twenty-One

13 December 2006
It is unfortunate that I have stopped writing as many entries as I used to. I guess I have had a hard time reflecting back on some of these mundane days as time goes by on this ship. I also have struggled quite a bit with my attitude. This GMO (general medical officer) life is getting to me, I think. Complaints about colds, minor joint pain, skin rashes, and paperwork for periodic health assessments, transfers, separations, retirements, special duty, etc. can get so old, boring, and very annoying. All I want to do is save a few lives, diagnose some real illnesses, and patch some people up! I have been looking so forward to residency to learn about and treat actual sick patients that I have lost track of where I am right now: I am making sure that the US sailors are in good health so they can do their jobs aboard this Naval vessel. When I take the time to focus on them, I find patience and even joy in all these people. Such personalities, backgrounds, and talents! I need to swallow my pride of being a “just” a GMO and thrive where I am at. Every morning I pray that God will give me patience and proper perspective of what I am doing. I know others are praying for me, too, and I can feel God’s hand on my life. I am such a blessed person! God has been gracious to remind me of this truth.

One blessing He also bestowed on me was a wonderful port visit to Greece. We “parked” in Piraeus and took the metro into Athens. Laura and I stayed two nights in a wonderful hotel next to the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, at the base of the Acropolis. We ate well and put some miles on our shoes as we spent a full day wandering around different ancient sites and going through the shopping district (Plaka). Of course, we loved hearing Greek spoken everywhere and looking at all the signs which are in a different alphabet. Greece is part of the EU so we used euros again (I used up what I had left from Italy—when we were headed to the gulf), and most signs were translated into English and almost everyone spoke English. Small pedestrian streets hosted hundreds of little stores and restaurants. The bakeries were full of baklava. Small storefronts sold everything one could imagine. Olive oil, olives, and Uzzo (a licorice type liquor rumored to contain heroin) were sold everywhere. Since the Olympics, the area of town we were in still seems to take on a very touristy feel. A lot of places seemed to have undergone a quick upgrade that does not seem to quite cover all the years of filth and being rundown. I am sure that it is quite an improvement, though, and I really enjoyed my visit to Athens. I look forward to returning and visiting the many numerous islands.

Day One-Hundred Twelve

4 December 2006
This morning I set my alarm to wake me at 4am. The Broncos were playing Sunday Night Football and I needed to see how our new rookie quarterback was going to do. It ended up not being that great of a game—we had 5 turnovers and lost. Oh well, Seattle did not do that great either—Hassleback had a hard time putting plays together and Sean Alexander did not show off how good he really is. It was kind of fun, though, laying in bed, sipping coffee that I made in my little coffee pot, and watching the game with my Christmas lights giving a soft glow to my room. It was also cold (the temperature dropped dramatically has we headed north through the Red Sea yesterday and last night). I got to snuggle in my blankets like most people do in December.

The rest of the ship was busy at that crazy early hour. We had just entered the Suez Canal when the game was starting. During the game, I went out to take a lap on the flight deck and watch the sunrise. It was fridged! The cold air was shocking! It has been so long. Unfortunately, the sunrise was not the greatest—the air was a bit hazy. But as I peeked my head out all day between seeing patients, the haze disappeared and the horizon line sharpened up. The contrast between the tan sandy land, the blue sky, and the green water of the canal was beautiful. It was probably made all the more beautiful since the canal and its landscape is the passageway home—away from the tormented Gulf and toward the country we love. Ah, yes…it was nice to watch the land go by on such a glorious day. The air warmed a bit as the sun rose, but the winds picked up. The wind off the ship is funny. It makes my clothes sound like flapping flags and billows them up so that I look twice my size. Plus my hair would not stay out of my face no matter which way I stood, so I decided my pictures were going to have to be mostly Gretchen-less. It was a wonder to reach the end of the Suez shortly before dinner. The Mediterranean opened up before us, welcoming us to the Western world again—a world where this ship does not feel quite as despised and our guard can be lowered (but just a bit). The opening to the Med also was a symbol that we really are on our way home. There is no denying that now! I felt it in every sailor that I greeted today. The sunset over Egypt was brilliant and memorable. Now every sunset I see will be in front of the bow of the ship, which means we are headed west towards home! I am so excited!