Truth, Lessons, and Deployment

"Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am a big believer in family. I believe that sometimes you must supplement the family you are born into with a family you create for yourself.

Official notification has come. It is only a matter of time now. My best friend, my brother, is headed back to the battlefield. Deployment: Part 2 is inevitable.

With this notification comes a slew of emotions that come in stages. Relief- because it was going to happen eventually and now at least there is a time frame. Anxiety- because here we go again. Resignation- because it is going to happen, there is no denying that. Acceptance- it is happening. Fear- What if... Preparation- take each moment, each memory, and guard it jealously.

Deployment orders call for a moment of reflection.

I have volunteered in various capacities with military support organizations since the start of operations in Iraq. I have met incredible people. I have seen my best friends off to war. Some have not come home. I would not change any of it. One does not become closely associated with the military without learning a few things.

One of those things is the value of friendship. In the military family, things are compressed. Time, experience is compressed. Sending a loved one off to war is a daunting task. You must say the things you've been meaning to. You are made to see the value in each day, each moment, each hour, even each minute. Life, Death, Mortality-- the range of human emotion is there in the last seconds of a phone call from Germany, when the next communication will be from the Middle East. When the anxiety finally eases, when the plane touches down after 8 months or 12 months, these are not things you forget. Each moment after a safe deployment is a blessing. Each casual conversation. Each movie watched in silence.

As we start this new journey, remember I am proud of you, I am behind you, I value our friendship. You are family and I love you for it.

We are not afforded the luxury of taking things for granted.

The unknown is in the what ifs, and the sentences left unfinished after every reassurance. Before deployment....each moment really must be made to count.