Almost home…
Hundreds and hundreds of our neighbors and friends, who have been in Iraq serving, are almost home.
Most don’t like to talk about it before they walk off a transport onto American soil. Can you imagine what that must feel like? You sign up to serve your country, get shipped off to a war that has no defined geographic boundaries, no enemy in an identifiable uniform, and your rules of engagement are shall we say complicated. Your life hangs in the balance every day but you don’t know where to point your gun. “Who goes there? Friend or foe?” No way of knowing.
The insanity that is war today is nothing like the WW2 movies we all watched growing up. The saying used to be, “War is hell.” If hell is “the absence of hope” as one old friend once told me, than I’d say this war is every bit of hell. It must be maddening to sit over there and feel like you’re playing Russian Roulette with your life. God bless the men and women of our armed forces. The things we ask of them are impossible to accomplish. And they accomplish it anyway.
Later this week and much of next Anna and I will be writing about these homecomings. SASTP Unpaid Employee #5 will be on the ground at the homecoming shooting pictures and you’ll see the tears and the joy right here in this space.
These are the days where husbands and wives are reunited and children squeeze mommy or daddy’s neck so tight they might never let go.
But please keep them all in your prayers. These men and women have been exposed to stress like none of us can relate to. If you think their transition from war to home is a snap, it won’t be. There will be marriages that were once strong dropped on the rocks. There will be sleeplessness and anxiety beyond what any of us civilians have ever experienced. They didn’t just march off and play war somewhere. They spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for months on end wondering if they’re number is up. They sat in blistering hot tents on the phone, tears rolling down their cheeks listening in as their babies celebrated birthdays… only to have the line go dead because of another sand storm.
We all sit here and bitch about health care reform and wonder whether or not our politicians are hypocrites. Let me connect the dots for you. The answer is yes, they are. Get over it. They’re just like you and me. Imperfect. On the other hand, our servicemen and woman are sent to hell and back. Drop what you are doing and tell them thank you. Tell them you’re honored and humbled by their sacrifice. The family down the street who sit waiting for daddy or mommy to come home, bring them a meal, a hug, a kind note in the mailbox.
The “Gratitude Waves” this website has spawned were awesome but too easy. We type a few words and move on with our day. Well, our soldiers are coming home this week and next. By the end of the month, all 4000 of our North Carolina National Guard will be back where they belong. Make sure they know the people they have been protecting (you and me) are thankful.
Do something that says “I’m grateful.” MR
Amen! Thanks from one of the many military families anxiously awaiting a reunion in the coming days. Your support and that of your readers is what has helped get all of us through to this point.
Amen! Thank you for reminding us.
Thanks again, Mike, for remembering our military and their families. We are soooo excited for them to be home but know that it won’t be an easy transition for many. Along with expressions of gratitude, I know many of us cherish your prayers of support. Thank you!
What none of you know, is that Mike is just sucking up to the military types because he wants to collect enough pander-points to earn a free ride in a tank.
Kidding, of course. Thanks, as always, for your unwavering support, Mike.
How about a reveal on the new job? Dream? Nightmare? What precisely do you DO??? The smelly people want to know! Thanks.
Oh, and I’m still working on the tank ride. It might require your getting a tattoo. Is that a deal breaker?
So glad they’ll be home soon. Continuing to pray for them and their families as they adjust to being stateside again and for all the men and women continuing to serve our nation and their families. Can’t wait to read the stories and see the pictures. Thank you again Mike and Anna for helping keep these precious souls in the forefront of our thoughts and prayers.
Well said, Mike! Thank you for your continued support of our military and the families who wait anxiously for their return. Our soldier will be home in June, God willing.
Well said, my friend!
thank you Mike and Anna for your support. We soon will be reunited with our soldiers. So many emotions we have right now. the waiting part is so hard but knowing others like you really show us support you rock. thank so much
Thank you so much for putting into words what so many of us feel. As a military wife at the end of our second deployment, the transition is hard – there is no way to explain the feeling of learning to be a couple again, learning to let your soldier handle things that you have been handling and no way to explain how hard it is for them to jump into a life that has been going forward without them for 18 months. Please just keep the prayers coming for smooth transitions for all of us! The prayers have gotten us this far – they’ll certainly keep us going!
Thanks so much for your TRUE support of our soldiers and their families. Sincerity and not just words is key and you are very appreciated!