proud

Shortly after the war in Iraq started, i found myself traveling there. This was not the first time i had been away, but it was the first time i was a little apprehensive about going. I found out less than a week before i left that i had to go. the military is a strange place. you either adjust or you don't...there is no medium. I have been in for 11 years now and have had the greatest life experiences. I believe that the greatest friends anyone will ever make will be made in the military.
Back to the story at hand. I knew iraq would be different from any other deployment. I knew I would have limited luxuries. Each time i deploy i remember all those things i tak for granted...like not having to wait until 10 AM to take a shower because the water is too cold before and it will be to hot afterward. I remember that using the restroom with a door is a convenience, not a necessity. I remember that not talking to my dad every week leaves a void that no human can fill. I remember that the people i meet there will share a place in my heart forever. I remember that having to use bottled water to brush your teeth really sucks, but it is better than dysentary!
As i walked off that plane, i may have just as well been in hell. it was hot and it stank and then we were alone on the runway. yep, it is my idea of hell. i will not forget playing games like, "is it a shooting star?". i will not forget the thing we do when we are bored, like drawing a treasure map and burying peoples stuff in the desert...or sewing peoples underwear together to make a flag, or zip tying mosquito netting down around someones cot. God knows that a deployment to the desert will be the only time in your life that you will be normal and all the sudden feel like you are going to pee your pants. Most of all, i will never forget the feeling i feel everytime i land back in the US. This is my favorite place on earth.
America is where i know i am free and able to say how i feel about it. I get to choose who i will love and when i will love them. Nothing makes me feel like this home that i share with millions of patriots. i love football, and i don't mean soccer. i love NASCAR...it gives me a sense of pride to see all those americans not making a noise thru the national anthem and then cheering like there is no tomorrow when the planes fly over head. i miss prayer in schools. i support the right for a woman to choose. i love starbucks on every corner. i believe that country music is white man's blues. i believe that EVERY man was created equal and should be treated as such.
as i write this, i get ready for bed. My children are sleeping and my husband is at work. i will not see him for a week at a time because we are both in the military and we work opposite shifts. he will go a week with out seeing his girls. but we do it for every one of you. we do it for america. we do it for pride and freedom. on the weekends, i will savor the moments i spend together with my family. i will love every second of it. but come monday morning, no matter how insignificant my job seems in the grand scheme of things, i will do what i can for your freedom and my own and those all throughout the world who can not. i love my life andi am proud to serve