Off to war


My brother-in-law Brian is on his way to Iraq this week. Thankfully we were able to get together with him and his family last night. He picked Chuck-E-Cheese of all places for his last night in Topeka for several months. Our girls had a blast playing with their cousins and I think all of the big kids (Brian, Kris, Mike etc.) had a good time too. It's hard to describe my feelings on "B" leaving. Part of me is sad, sad for his girls who will miss their daddy every day, sad for my husband who will miss his best friend, and sad that our country is even in a state of war. The other part of is me is proud, proud that I have a military family, proud that my family is so willing to serve while so many others chose not too, and proud that B took it upon himself to go to war. So while B's gone, my duty now falls to helping those who love him pass the time and live our lives so we can welcome him with open arms come February!

Here's a picture of B and Kris on one of the nights AMR let them work on the same ambulance.....

Comments

crewchief429 said…
Wow, that was quite a blog. This would be a great opportunity to answer the question i have been asked a million times........why? Why you, why now? For those who may not know, we come from a very long line of military members in our family. Our lineage could be traced back to the Civil War for sure, and i'm sure we go back to the Revolutionary War when our great country stood and took our freedom from a tryanny across the seas. When Shawn and i were kids, it was the "cool thing" to play army and war. We would spend hours storming foxholes on granger street. While i don't by any means think that war is cool, i have the utmost respect for those that have served before me. My great grandfather served in WWI, both of my grand fathers served in combat in WWII, Korea. Grandpa Roger took turns serving in Vietnam with my real hero, my father. Even though i don't even really know what my father went through in Vietnam (he never talks about it) I always had a feeling of pride when it came to his career. Hell, even Shawn went to desert shield in '90. So here i sit, riding the pine, 18 years into my military career. One day the coach came to me and asked if i was ready to get in the game. I was very excited. I couldn't wait, without thinking about my own friends and family i selfishly jumped at the opportunity to go to iraq. I am sorry to leave them, especially my daughters, who are my heart and soul, who i love more than anything in the world. And my new wife-to-be, carrie, who has made me very happy over the last year or so. So here i am, in Norfolk Va, sitting in my room on the navy base anticipating what will come next. In a couple days i will be in a C-130 or hopefully a C-17 circling high overhead Baghdad waiting to streak down out of the sky and put my boots in the sands of a hostile environment. I dont know what will come next, but in the end i truly hope that i find what i'm looking for over there, whatever that may be, and find myself back home in the company of my family and all my friends. And maybe one day my children, or grand children will study about this war and visit the wall of heroes and perhaps my face will appear there along with my father and grand fathers, and great grandfathers...........
September 13, 2007 at 7:49 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Parker's turning 3!

Image
It's been almost 3 years since we met Parker. She was a surprise baby to us, one we hadn't planned for but one that has changed our lives in ways we never imagined. She has always seem to have this knowledge of her presence in our lives, as a blessing more than anything else. She is our little calmer, she has this uncanny way of coming up to me when I'm at my worst and putting her sweet hand on my face and helping bring a sudden calm over me. Now don't get me wrong, she is a BUSY, BUSY little girl. From the moment she wakes up to the moment she finally gives in to sleep at night, that little girl has things to do. Whether it's dressed up in high heels and carrying a purse or finding a way to drive her big sister crazy, Parker is always up for a challenge. I can't believe our baby is already turning 3! She kept her end of the deal this summer, we told her if she could potty-train, we'd send her to sister's pre-school. Well guess who's potty-trained
Read more

Here we go

Image
 Our oldest heads to England to study abroad for a month on Saturday. A whole month. Away. Across the pond. Living in a castle nonetheless. I am so incredibly excited for her and terrified at the same time. I know this will open so many doors for her and will hopefully help her to open herself to life and new experiences. I am trying to not over think or over worry or over anything, to just let it ride and see how things go. I am so proud of her for jumping. For her willingness to do this and see what's out there. It's just so hard to have to share her. I've been very spoiled having her around and honestly she has become one of my best friends, as much as a child can be. She is still my child, grown up or not. I can't wait to see where life takes her, I hope I get to go along for part of the ride! Our youngest begins her college cheer career this week. They have their first round of insane practices. She is so excited and so ready for something that belongs to her. I am
Read more

Setting boundaries

 We've really had to have some tough talks with our girls about setting boundaries and sadly, cutting ties. Some toxic friendships in their lives have been brought to the forefront of life, and Kris and I both feel these are things they need to know how to do, much sooner than we figured out. It's been tough, and some really hard conversations have came into play since we started giving them this guidance, including facing some of our own bullshit. That part has been hard. To not take things personally when they are doing exactly what we asked of them. I wholeheartedly admit I am a helicopter mom. I have always joked that I was the fun one, the one involved, the one there to help with whatever they need. But it has been brought to my attention that they need to fail, they need some space and quite honestly, I'm not as good as I thought. OOF. If that isn't a punch to the gut. But as the great Taylor Swift says, "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me.&quo
Read more