Friday, September 10, 2010

Because it is fitting ...

Tomorrow morning Addison and I will drive out to the airfield and get a 15-minute video teleconference with Adam. We had one last deployment, and I left that VTC feeling elated. I thought maybe I would be sad and it would make me miss him more, but it proved to be the opposite. I'm thankful for that.

I can't wait to see his face, and hear his voice attached to said face. It seems strange when I think that I haven't seen his face and heard his voice at the same time for 2 months. This sounds weird, I know.

What is fitting is that tomorrow is Sept. 11. I feel incredibly selfish writing this post. What happened to our country 9 years ago tomorrow still takes my breath away. It makes my heart ache. I can't imagine the pain of those who died and those who have lived on without their loved ones. But it was also that day that I realized that Adam would finally be putting his years of training to use - he would be going to war.

I knew our country needed to strike back. I knew Adam was a "go-to-war" Soldier, called upon first when needed. I just never thought it would actually happen. So if I don't feel bad when I see wives complaining that they haven't gotten an email in 24 hours from their husband who is AT WAR, I have my reasons.

Adam left a month after 9/11, after several aborted "Okay, I'm really leaving now." I don't know how many good-byes we had, and then he would come home, for an entire week. It was emotional, to say the least. Finally, they left, and we did not hear anything. We had no communication. The first I saw of what could have possibly been him was footage on CNN of his unit parachuting onto an airfield in Afghanistan on Oct. 19. I know I've talked about this before, so I'm not going to rehash all the feelings, emotions, etc. Suffice it to say, it was one of the hardest times in my life. Thank God Addison was 2 at the time and had no idea what was going on.

I plan on making sure I thank Adam for his service to our country tomorrow, and to ask him to pass on that sentiment from not only me, but all of us over here who so appreciate what they do over there. They do their job, and don't expect anything in return. The least we can do is thank them.

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