Halfway there…
Loyal readers will remember the beginning of the journey, when I was contemplating re-entering the military environs…
Now, halfway through the maelstrom, I can tell you that the experience has changed me. I knew that it would.
I am thankful that the changes have been for the better. I do not fear having to deal with any extraordinary PTSD issues, just the usual readjustment to civilian life, where there will be much that I will never take for granted again…
I have learn much about the nature of man. I have conversed with the people of this country. I have high hopes that they will be able to grow. I believe that all the effort has been worth the price. We have done what we set out to do, and I grieve that those who fight against us in my own country cannot see what we have wrought.
But I am also tired…
I am old, and parts of me are breaking. I want to go home. I don’t want to be here. Nobody in their right mind does, but the mission must be accomplished, the job must be completed, so I put a smile on my face, duck my head, and carry on.
After this, I will be done. I will have finished what I started long ago on a dark and cold morning in February. I will have gone to war for my country, and my account shall be marked as “paid”… I have answered John F. Kennedy’s challenge, and asked “not what my country can do for me, but what I can do for my country”…
Six months. 24 weeks. 12 paydays.
When the counter on the sidebar clicks over to 5 months and 30-some odd days, time will begin to move again, and the light at the end of the tunnel will begin to grow in clarity and size, and it won;t be long until I can doff this uniform for the final time, satisfied that, in my soul, I have done my duty.
I will have made friends, I will have seen things that few have seen, joined that fraternity of warriors who have “been there, done that”…
Six months. Hell, I can do anything for six months!
February 19th, 2009 - 10:45
Six months… considering the road you’ve trod, it’s really not that long.
*ducking the slap*
Hey, just trying to lift the mid-deployment blues. *hugs*
March 16th, 2009 - 10:04
I’ve started reading military blogs recently, and feel a little more edumacated on the war. I feel inspired by your writings. Hang in there! Be safe and thanks for serving our country!