Six HoursToday Part 1

April 25, 2010
Sunday, 4:51 P.M.
Home

Considering that I have spent a solid six hours working on my research paper, I feel no guilt in using it as at least a triple contribution to my blog. So here, not in its entirety, it is!

In this era of the “War on Terrorism” we, as a nation, are dependent on the expertise, courage, loyalty, fortitude and commitment to duty of an all volunteer military force. As a result, many of these companies of soldiers are being redeployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan, not only once, but two and three times leaving their homes and families for fifteen months at a time. Four deployments means up to sixty months, five years out of a military family’s life. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, graduations, little league games, first dates, scraped knees, loose teeth, riding two wheelers, broken hearts, broken spirits, school projects, family vacations, proms, life, love, laughter, tears, all woven into a normal American family’s life, continues to evolve even as the parent and/or spouse of said family serves thousands of miles away. One can only imagine the impact this has on all concerned in these scenarios. As the parent continuing to endure the day to day trials and tribulations of raising a family, the military spouse is forced to establish a whole new mindset with regard to maintaining the family unit. They are solely responsible for the physical, mental and emotional health of their growing children. They end their days in bed alone with silent prayers that their loved one makes it through another day. This, in and of itself, for a twelve month period is looked upon as manageable; difficult, lonely, but manageable. When faced with the prospect over and over again, it can be construed as impossible or worse yet, not worth the effort.