Henry's Web Log

Our friends, neighbors, coworkers, scouts and school parents have been very supportive of this unexpected deployment, and two very common responses Lisa and I hear all the time are, “Oh. I’m so sorry to hear about your husband.” And “let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” While the former might be appropriate for a tragic accident or debilitating illness, it’s just the opposite: I’ve been called to serve my country with the skills and leadership the Army has trained me for. I’m honored to serve. And there’s not much I could want, except to be back with my family. The food, equipment, accommodations are all fine. The biggest issue is that I’m not there for my family. Because as intense as the Army is, it’s got nothing on the Bass family! Lisa expertly handles teaching several classes at the Christiansburg Recreation Center, Den Leader for 13 Cub Scouts, Cubmaster for the Pack of 80 Christiansburg Cub Scouts , organizer for the school “Reflections” creative art contest, organizer for the school’s “Just Run” morning fitness program, serves as the Red Cross’ only volunteer instructor, usually serves in some water sports work (she managed the Meadow’s pool for the last 3 summers, has taught water aerobics and baby aquatics for many years but gave that up when I was ordered to duty). She also substitute teaches, and she was taking a theater class to maintain her teaching certifications and add additional endorsements: Lisa recently took an incomplete so that she can finish some of these other events... Like the Lego contest: Lisa single-handedly coached a team of six 4th graders through the intricacies of programming Lego-NXT robots, plus a research-presentation project on climate changes, a mystery teamwork challenge, and technical judging.

Their team, “The Blizzards” did so well under her leadership that they were crowned regional champions, and darn it all if they aren’t going to the Virginia state competition now: December 6th and 7th at James Madison University in Lexington. It’s a great honor for Ethan, age 9, and the only team member who has competed before. A second team at Ethan’s school also won a spot at the State competition: 7 out of Southwest Virginia’s 30 competing teams were selected to move up, and it’s a great reflection that Christiansburg Elementary School owns two of those seven outstanding teams!
Speaking of honors, she also led the Pack to be top in Popcorn sales for the entire Cub Scout District, possibly the council, beating last year’s record sales by 50%. She’s raising our two magnificent boys, AND taking care of her Grandmother in a managed-care facility. Without a doubt, I’m super proud of her, and if we had a platoon of Lisas in Operation Iraqi Freedom, you would see Iraq as a global economic powerhouse within 6 months! I did nominate her for the “Freedom Team Salute” as a program that supports and recognizes the spouses, employers and supporters of our deployed forces. I understand that their certificate and recognition recently arrived and brightened her day!

The biggest challenge now facing Lisa is pulling off this state Lego Robotics competition. Lexington is 2.5 hours away, and the competition is an intense 2-day event amongst 70 teams dominated by top Northern Virginia/DC area schools. She needs to get the kids hotel rooms, keep them secure, fed and rested, then get to competition first thing Saturday, stress the day-long events, and repeat Sunday. I understand that several of the team parents either don’t want to pay for the event, don’t have the resources, or have schedule conflicts. And the big bombshell: our training unit was just approved for a 3-day pass, starting that Sunday. On a good night, Lisa gets 6 hours sleep. So that second phrase, the “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help” could be any number of simple things to just let her breathe. If I can be so bold, here are a few ideas I have. Ideas that give her time might be a 3:1 ratio to ideas that take time. Maybe you can add some thoughts in the comments?

Ideas that give her time--

• A freezable dinner


• A ready-to-eat dinner on a planned night.


• Invite Eric & Ethan to play at your house.


• Take Ethan & Eric to the new movies being released.


• Take Eric & Ethan bowling.


• Take the boys swimming at the Blacksburg Aquatic Center.


• Go with Lisa to visit her Grandmother.


• Pick up or drop off the boys at scouts, band or birthday parties ( thanks lots for those who do this already!!)


• Be the guest speaker/planner for the next Den meeting.


• “YouTube” the videos and photos Lisa has accumulated, and wants to share with me but gets bogged down in the subtleties of video transfer or Picasa upload.

Ideas that take time --

• Take Lisa with you to a day spa (a birthday present I didn’t get to fulfill before Uncle Sam visited)


• The long January weekend (5 day school holiday) is coming up- team up for a group vacation.


• Meet Lisa for coffee or lunch.


• Join Lisa for a workout before or after a class she teaches.