Back from the desert for good…Feels so good to be home in the U.S.A.!
Blurry view from the bus of my mom and cousin as I was about to step off and greet them…
Mom, Lily, and I-they are the best!
“On behalf of our crew and flight staff with Ryan Air, we are glad that you are going home and thank you for your service…” said the flight attendant as we were landing at Miramar Air Station in California this morning…
All day today-on the plane, at the airports, being greeted by VFW veterans in Illinois-has been a reminder of the fact that I am going home…We started our flight in Manas, Kyrgyzstan at 11:30am on Monday, July 12th to Bucharest, Romania then to Leipzig, Germany, onward to Keflavik, Iceland to Rockford, Illinois and finally to Miramar, California. We arrived at about 3am P.S.T., Tuesday, July 13th and after 29 hours of travel, I was so tired and yet, so excited to be home!
So many mixed emotions on the trip here, especially on the ride from Miramar to Camp Pendleton-anxious about coming home and transitioning again, my head is spinning knowing that I have a ton of things on my “to do” list before I leave California, dreading the checking out process when I get back from liberty, preparing for my trip to Hawaii next week, excited to see my family and teary-eyed just thinking about it-all at the same time. I’m home. I’m safe. And the most important thing-I’m still me…maybe a little tainted by the war, frustrated with a third world society and the politics that come with trying to protect and help them, but also more aware of why our heroes are fighting there every day. I can truly and honestly say that I was a part of all of that-having worked at two large level III hospitals over there, as well as giving level II “damage control” care to the freshly wounded. There is so much to think about and it’s hard to not get caught up in everything. Every day life here in the States seems so mundane…but the trade off is being safe and having the freedom to live as an American…
Speaking of which, I went to Starbucks and had a grande soy chai latte this morning. I had breakfast at a little pastry, nook and cranny shop called “Petite Madeline’s” and ordered smoked salmon benedict. This world seems so far from the one I was just in 5 days ago…The freedom to choose, buy, speak, live…That is the freedom that those heroes I walked amongst every day out there is fighting for…People will never really understand what I have been through-the world that we had the chance to live in, and the lifestyle we led…except for my “band of brothers” that I have come to know and bond with so well…
I’m going to try to rest today and the next few days, and not get caught up in the “rat race.” I just want to relax. I’ve been running on 12 cylinders mentally, physically, emotionally, and professionally the past 7 months. God truly is so good and being able to talk about my time in Afghanistan is a true testament of His goodness. I just want to breathe, step back, and truly be thankful and grateful for the time that I have to enjoy life, friends, and family. That I truly feel like I rate and deserve…I am so grateful to the Lord for keeping us safe while we were in Afghanistan and I’m going to leave it at that…
