perspective

I just got off the phone with Derrick. He was able to sleep in until 8 am this this morning and has had 3 consecutive nights with no incidents. He seemed really pleased with that, and I didn't want an explanation of what that really meant.

He said he's happy he's at the location he is, it allows him to do what he does best and he is never sitting idle. He finally received the Christmas tree I sent, a day late but it arrived. He's just going to leave it there for the team next year. He also got the shoes I sent for the kid that works with him. Not sure if they fit yet though. He's excited about having curry mix and canned chicken from home and he's sending their gopher to the local bazaar to pick up some nan so he can make a curry dinner for his team. It makes me smile to know how excited he is about cooking something he really likes.

He's become very accustomed to eating traditional Afghan meals, so last nights Christmas dinner should have been a treat. Some of it was, some of it wasn't. The Army brought up a traditional turkey and ham dinner with all the sides. He told me the turkey didn't smell or taste right. One bite and he was done. Everything else was good though. He told me that everyone who ate the turkey has been sick all day today. It stinks that a meal that should remind them of home makes them sick because it arrives and is served rotten.

He was talking with his lieutenant about Christmas. His Lt. missed (or maybe almost missed- I can't remember the exact time line) the birth of his first child while they were in CA training, was able to spend a few weeks with them before coming back to Okinawa and is now in Afghanistan missing his first Christmas. I'm sure this is harder for him then I could even imagine. Derrick mentioned different parts of their conversations. The most poignant was, "right now there are millions of Americans at home bitching because they didn't get what they wanted for Christmas, and here I am just happy to get a shower." He did get one & it was warm long enough that he even got to shave!

Hearing that, even where I'm at in this picture humbled me a bit. I'm fortunate beyond what I give myself and that statement put it all back into perspective.

He finally saw the all of the pictures I'd found online, he agreed that OPSEC was violated but not to be too concerned, they're really in a remote place. He also said, what I saw is what it is. Nothing has changed in the past 7-8 months; but what I see as a shithole in the middle of a mud puddle he says is not that bad and he's lived in worse. I guess it's good I didn't always have the internet at my fingertips and servive members leaking photos and information about random locations around the globe. Then I might have been more stressed during previous deployments.

We survived Christmas! I think some people saw the worst in me the days leading up to yesterday, but yesterday went well, we survived, had fun with friends and didn't let the fact that the family wasn't all together this year affect us too much. Today really feels like a new day and a weight on my shoulders and heart have been lifted. What a difference a day makes. One month down, eight to go and fingers crossed for a 2 week R&R some time in the spring.