AUGUST 7TH!!!

August 7th?
Almost three months since I posted.
Summer, all four or five days, has all but come and gone.
I've played golf five times.
Had my boat on the water twice, but that's a whole different story.
And life is just flying bye.
Matt has been home since May 15th.
We left Tacoma on Tuesday, May 13th at 800 hrs, and drove into our driveway in New Hampshire on Saturday, May 17th at approximately 16:30 hrs. Not a lot of sight seeing.
I have found it hard to get motivated to post.
While Matt was in Iraq it was a great stress reliever, and made the time pass.
And it was great to hear from people who were in the same situation, or who just wanted to offer support.
To say that life has become once again normal would be a lie.
While there is a lot less stress, there are still the memories.
I have dreams of things blowing up, and being shot at, and isolated, and of people getting hurt and not being able to help them.
Much the same as the dreams I had while Matt was deployed.
I still have times when I suffer the same depression brought on by the worry of having a loved one in harms way.
I wish I could tell everyone with a loved one serving in Iraq or Afghanistan that when their son get's home it will all be great.
But I can't.
Don't get me wrong, it is a whole lot better.
There's a lot less worrying.
But it doesn't go away.
Or at least in my case, it hasn't yet.
I hope to find another cause to take up here in the blogosphere.
And when I do, I intend to continue to do all I can to support our heroes serving in harms way.
Until they all come home.

Thanks NUGHT for rattling my cage.
Now it'll probably be another couple of months before I post again.

SUNDAY BLOG

I'm considerring changing the name of this to,"
Sunday Blog".
It seems that Sunday is the only day that I ever have the motivation to write.

As Sundays go here in the frozen tundra we call New England, this one is marvelous.
There's a beautiful deep blue sky, the temp. is a balmy 17 degrees, and the sun shining through the snow covered pines makes a sparkle. If it was January this would all be fantastic.
However, it is February.
Where's the 50 degrees, and melting snow?
I'm ready to bitch about some mud...
Here's a couple of pictures, because we all know, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

I was amazed at how the snow looked like a blanket draped over the car.

Our driveway is usually a mud rut by now.
Spring will come.
Soon.
I hope.

Heard from Matt, Friday.
It' was a tough week in Diyala Province.
The 4th BDE lost a couple of men on the 17th.

(I'll be putting together a second post with info today).

And his platoon was on patrol in a neighborhood when a suicide bomber took out a crowd of people.
He and his fellow soldiers got to help with the clean up.
All in all he wasn't very upbeat.
A friend asked, "what do you say when he shares this kind of information".
I guess there's no clear answer to that question.
I try to be supportive.
Tell him that, "it's all part of the job." "Hang in there, it'll get better." All the while wishing that he wasn't there, and didn't have to see and be a part of these things that no human being should have to endure.
We can only hope that he'll be one of the lucky ones.
Those who can put it all behind them, pick up the pieces, and live a happy successful life.
If he survives it.
Matt has a degree in criminology. He, at one time, aspired a career in police work. The last time he was home he talked of maybe going into fire fighting and EMT work. What he's dealing with in Irag should be good training for what he will have to deal with in either line of work.
Or change his mind about what he wants to do.
They've received word that they should be home, May 1st or 15th. Or June 1st or 15th.
He complains about never getting a definite answer about the timing of anything.
Yet knows there's a reason for that.
You never know who's watching, and reporting to the enemy.
Especially with Iraqis working for subcontractors on all of the FOBs.
But that's a story for another post.
They're suppose to be regrouping, the brigade was divided up and sent to many different areas, and heading to Kuwait, in the next month or so.
Once there they clean and pack everything up to go on a boat and ship back to the port of Washington.
I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas.
The day that I see them march onto that parade field, to be dismissed, at FT. Lewis will be one of the happiest days of my life.

A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS WISH!

Another Christmas is bearing down on us like a speeding freight train.
Before we know it, it will be over.
I'm not sure I will have the time to post again before Tuesday.
I'm not really certain that I have the time now.
But I'm going to, because I feel it necessary to wish all of my online friends a Merry Christmas.
I wish I could invite all of you over for a glass of cheer, and some of Karin's home made raisin stuffed cookies.. (From her grandmother’s recipe). God how I enjoy some traditions!!!
It would be a logistical nightmare to get everyone here, and you wouldn't all fit into our humble abode.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm flying a flag for our troops.
Regardless of etiquette, it is not coming down until our combat troops are out of Iraq.
It serves several purposes, a few of which are, to call attention to the troops. In protest of the mandate restricting them from flying our flag in Iraq. And in support of all they do.

Here it is.

This flag was given to my wife by an elderly woman that she use to clean and do errands for. It was presented to her at her husbands funeral. He was a veteran of WWII, and she had no next of kin to pass it on to.
I hope he would be honored o know the purpose it now serves.

I can't wait until the day I can take it down and bring it to my Legion Post for proper disposal.

For those who may not be aware, most American Legion and VFW posts hold ceremonies a couple of times a year to properly dispose of worn and unseviceable flags. They are more than happy to take your flags for this purpose. In most cases they will send someone to pick your flag up, if you are unable to get to the post.

I have an acquaintance that retired form the Navy a few years back. He and I are members of our local American Legion, and his wife works for
Webber Energy, in the office that I manage. I hate to say that people work for me!! We all work for the company. I just manage the operation. I am blessed with a great group of dedicated individuals to work with..
Anyway, this retired Navy Vet. writes a weekly column for the local newspaper. The Sentinel "Calling All Veterans".

He does a great job of providing information about benefits for local veterans, and passes along stories from vets, and from his own experience in the service.
Well this week he posted a poem that he found a few years back.
He writes that it is much circulated via email on Christmas eve, but I have never seen it.
I was so moved by it that I thought I would share it with you here.
Maybe everyone has already seen it.
I hope someone finds it as touching as I did.
Especially the last paragraph.
It was written in December 2000 by a Michael Marks.
I pass it on, as did my friend, in honor of my son, and all the sons and daughters deployed not only to Iraq, but everywhere on earth,who won't be home for Christmas.

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed around the room and I cherished the sight.
My was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out hear!
"Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
"You should be at home on a cold Christmas eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts
To the window that danced with a warm fires light
Then he sighed and he said "it's really alright."

"I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
"That separates you from the darkest of times.
"No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
"I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My gramps died at Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas Gram always remembers,
“My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘Nam’,
“And now it’s my turn and so, here I am.
“I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
“But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.”

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
“Away from my family, my house and my home.
“I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
“I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
“I can carry the weight of killing another,
“Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
“Who stand at the front against any and all,
“To ensure for all time that this flag sill not fall.
“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
“Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”

“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
“It seems all to little for all that you’ve done,
“For being away from your wife and your son.”

Then his eye weld a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget
“To fight for our rights back home while we’re gone,
“To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
“For when we come home, either standing or dead,
“To know you remember we fought and we bled
“Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
“That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

The final verse is what really hits home, and what I’m trying to say by flying the flag 24/7.

Amazingly enough Matt called while I was writing, just as I finished the last verse.
He is fine.
Things have been considerably quieter for the last few days.
Let’s hope it stays that way.

My deepest and most sincere wishes for a calm, quiet Christmas day for all of our troops where ever they may be.
And to all of my friends on line, may you be blessed with all the good that this season brings, and the warmth and comfort of dear friends and family.

God Bless you all.