A Marine (Jeannette) in Iraq (continued)
April 3, 2008 – 6:00 am(continued from April 2)
This is my husband’s first experience with being the person left behind with the family. It’s been hard on them all. He’s a great father, but all children need their mothers, especially my two year old, Logan. My Mama’s boy. It is difficult for us all. We’ve all had to make changes and adapt to the situation. It was very hard for me to leave my boys and it remains hard to be gone as they reach milestones like Logan using the potty and putting on his own shoes. Or Peyton starting to play football. In such a small amount of time it seems I have already missed so much. By the time I return Logan will be three and Peyton will be seven. Practically grown!
The fortunate thing about living in this era is that communication is much more widely available. I can call home or send emails daily, with the exception of the black outs. A blackout occurs when a soldier has died and they are in the process of notifying the family. They don’t want someone to hear via email that their spouse or child has passed. So they cut off all communication until the family is notified.
This has happened several times since I have been here. It’s much more real out here. I knew before I came that we were losing soldiers and Marines often, but it didn’t really hit home until I actually had to look at their pictures on the wall when I walk down the hallway to my office.
And yes, I said office. We have been here so long that we have buildings with offices that we work in. Not exactly the wars of the past. But on the plus side of that I am far better equipped to perform my job with all of these conveniences.
I will go home in late August after being here for 6 months and away from my family for 8. That being said, the Army brigade I came to support was here when I arrived and will be here for another 7 months when I leave. So I am lucky.
Hope this sheds some light on me and my service.
My thanks to Jeannette. Other stories are always welcome. Post a comment or email to margaretgeorge@verion.net.
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