Memorial Day...

Memorial Day is the last Monday in May that we Americans remember the men and women that have died while serving in the Armed Forces. For some it is the beginning of summer; a time we enjoy our kids being home, BBQ's on the patio, and even trips to the lake or beach.

There are Military families - the ones that get hit directly; and in some capacity that means most that deploy. Their sacrifices will forever hold a place in our country's heart, but it doesn't quite fill the void. There are soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan (and other wars) but don't quite make it home from the battlefield; they too are broken. Their struggle doesn't necessarily involve burn units or crutches, but if we could somehow provide a prosthetic for the human soul that could solve it all perhaps.

As you go about this weekend enjoying your family and friends I ask that you say a prayer for those that have inner struggles as well as physical wounds.

God Bless America!


 

Perspective...

As I have mentioned before I am an Army wife. Although it does NOT define me, it does have much to do with the core of who I am. I bring that up in order to add some perspective to my experience. I sit here in one of the last few evenings left in a 12 month deployment looking back on the events of this past year. In some instances I wonder where the time has gone and with others I feel as though time has stood still. Perspective is a funny thing, and we all have our own. I, just like everyone else, have had good times as well as bad. But this is the reality of my past year; my father died very early into the deployment and (unrelated) family ties have been severed. But, that didn't define me nor this deployment. The joy came soon after with the birth of another beautiful grandson, I was able to travel most of the summer and into the fall, and I was featured in a book about Army wives sharing their (military) life experiences. But in all that I realized that my friends  helped me get through it once again. And for that I am truly thankful and blessed. I said at the beginning of this year long venture that even though you may have been through a deployment before, they are ALL different in some way; friendships are strengthened and some are broken beyond repair, but memories are made and we all grow just a little bit stronger as each day passes. We build on our own form of resiliency.

Two perspectives, one reality:
The other week as I was talking to my husband in Afghanistan he asked me if I was excited about him returning.  I thought, sure! The next couple of days I thought about my reaction. Because he seemed sad in my lack of emotion I felt I should explain. I told him that my daily routine was to wake up alone, handle day to day scheduling, and to go to bed at night -- alone. So other than the conversation about him returning it hadn't sunken in just yet. I explained to him that he has begun some of his routine end of deployment activities and that his perspective is most likely very different from mine: most of his personal belongings were being shipped back to the US, he was attending TOA (transition of authority) and casing/uncasing ceremonies. These ceremonies are typical for military units as one relinquishes authority and another assumes authority of a particular area. Although I can see that the number of days dwindling on the calendar, it still really hadn't sank in yet. There were board meetings, luncheons, and friends reuniting with their hereos still going on with me at our duty station and yet a movement from over six-thousand miles away had already begun to take place.  With plenty of experience over the past 11 years, that (redeployment) has become an exact science logistically. And once again (other than conversation) I didn't grasp it all.  He is concentrating on things running smoothly in Afghanistan and I am concentrating on things here at our little place on the prairie.  What we decided is that we were both thankful for busy days, great friends, and the end of yet another deployment where there will no longer be two different perspectives. But holding each tightly once again.
To all my military spouses/fiancés/significant others separated by distance:
Keep Calm, He/She's Coming Home!