REMEMBERING |

REMEMBERING
Name: Soldierswife
Posting date: 12/4/07
Husband returned from: Iraq
Milblog url: soldierlife.com

Today I was reading a book that brought back some memories of Husband's deployment.

It was talking about soldiers going to the showers after an explosion near the base had woken everyone up. I remember A.S.* telling me how he would shower every few days. I would joke with him about how gross that sounded. And he would assure me he was using extra deodorant in between those days.

Or the times when we got to see each other on vid cam. I would watch him pack his gear before a mission.

Or unpack afterwards. I remember seeing his room behind him -- the snacks sent from home, the cards from the kids. How I felt so lonely without him. And how he must feel without us. I remember watching him go to sleep on numerous occasions. It was nice to see him slip into bed, pull up the covers, blow me a kiss for night, and fall asleep. It made me feel closer to him. After that I would go back to bed knowing he was in the same place as me.

Or one night I was talking to him and all I could hear in the background was gunfire. And then the phone went dead. He called me back to say things were not so quiet that night. I remember wondering how anyone could sleep through all of that.

Then there was the time he said he really wanted me to send him his favorite -- scoops and salsa. So I did. But by the time it got there the box had been dropped and the salsa jar cracked. He said it was wet and smelled of salsa. But he was glad that I at least tried to get it to him.

And every now and again I will hear songs that make me think of his being gone. There’s one by Rascal Flats, “What Hurts the Most." That one never fails to bring me to the verge of tears.

It’s amazing that he's been home a year and a half and I can still be brought to tears thinking about him being gone. And how small things make me remember what it was like while he was gone.

* A.S.: American Soldier

Comments

[Dennis Doetsch]

Lifetime memories that will make your relationship that much stronger. That is part of what makes military families special.

[John]

This entry reminds me of a friend of mine whose husband was deployed to Afghanistan. She once showed me a picture a newspaper photographer took of her hugging him on his return home. The look on her face was the essence of pure joy. I wish you and your husband nothing but the same and thank him and you for your service. Thank you.

[Christina aka The]

Soldier's wife,
God Bless you and your Brave Husband! It is wonderful he is home and Safe! Thank him for his Service to our Nation and for your Family's Sacrifice. We are indebted him and his Battle Buddies, the Gold Star Families and those wounded in theater. They have and always will remain in our Thought and Prayers!
God Speed!
I am also the Military Order of the Purple Heart Auxiliary, State of Illinois Patriotic Educator!-
--

God Bless Our Troops, Our Veterans, Our World Leaders, & America!

Respectfully,
Christina Finn
Founder / Coordinator
Patriotic Pillow Project SM

"I have learned that in order to bring about change, you must not be
afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try. Each
and everyone of us can make a difference." Rosa Parks