Friday, October 29, 2010

Day 299: Milestone!

Now technically, we don't know if this is going to be a 365 deployment or 455 day deployment. His orders read 455 for his last deployment and he was told it would be a 15 month tour, but he was sent home at just over a year. I remember him calling to tell me they were shortening his tour and not believing it. All it generally takes is a few weeks "in" the army before you understand that nothing is certain until it is being done and even then, sometimes be suspicious.

I learned early that he isn't going anywhere or doing anything until he is ON the plane and in the AIR and ON American soil. Stuff happens. As they say, "If the army'd wanted him to have a wife, they would have issued him one." Currently all the politicians talk about supporting families, but really as long as they're deploying soldiers over and over and taking them away for large chunks of the few months they are home, what can the government do to support me? Not much. The extra money he gets a month is nice, but it really isn't very much considering that he risks his life. But our society rewards sports figures and reality stars more than soldiers, teachers, police officers, firemen, etc.

Ok, back from tangentville. This deployment, his orders said 455, but he was told it would be a twelve month tour. I have been counting down for a year, but am trying to stay mentally prepared that it could be longer. If they are some of the last troops in Iraq and the Iraqis forces have to be ready to take over before they can leave, he may be there for quite some time. I hope not. I cross my fingers and hope he will be home on time or even early. I wish he were home right now, but all I can do is wait.

In any case, getting under 300 days feels special. It is random and not even at a month marker, but it feels like a milestone. It is only 18% of the way finished with this year, which is a little depressing, but surviving a deployment is all about how it feels, getting closer, knowing that no matter how hard today was, it is one less day he is gone, one day closer to his return. So I am going to celebrate this milestone today. Even arbitrary markers are good ones when they are closer to bringing him home.

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