Here's a quick Memorial Day post to let you know what it's like to be a service member. Obviously I can't speak for every person who is serving or has served our country, but I imagine most vets can find something to identify with here.
Sometimes it was dangerous.
A lot of the time, it was boring. Boring and hot, boring and cold. Sometimes, to mix it up, it would be boring and really hot or cold. On occasion, it was fun. This was when we had the energy to turn something dangerous or boring into something fun.
One constant was homesickness. Everyone missed something. Family, friends, decent Mexican food, wives, kids, shopping malls, freedom.
Sometimes it felt like we were making the world a better place. Really helping people that needed help.
Sometimes it felt like we were carrying out the petty whims of a bizarre antisocial bureaucracy.
Through it all, we knew that America would be there when we got back, pretty much how we left her. That made it a little easier to face the prospect of another long, tiring, hot, wet, freezing, boring (hopefully) or exciting day (or night). We would try not to start counting the days until we got to come home until the two month mark, but you always knew the number in your head. "Only 112 more days until I get to go home and take the kids to Chuck E Cheese".
So every now and then, when you are hanging out with your family and enjoying some decent Mexican food, think about the men and women that would love to know what their kids look like right now, or that will never get to see their kids again.
Have a safe and un-exciting Memorial Day.
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