Another flip of the calendar and I’m reminded of when the neighbor girls ring the door bell, drop a bag of candy and run. I have never wanted time to go by faster than I do now. I miss my life outside of the uniform. I miss my family and my friends back home. I miss sleeping in, waking up and having a cup a coffee during the weekend. I miss being able to shower with the water running the entire time. I miss having a weekend off.
I miss running near my house and seeing the green trees and horses in the field. There is nothing of interest here to look at while I run and we’re not allowed to wear our IPods while running. The 1000 mile goal is as daunting as ever. I still have to add up my miles from the past month but I’m not off to a good start. I realize I need to run more miles over fewer days rather than fewer miles over every day. Acting as travel agent and not feeling well a couple days set me back. I’m still working at it. At least my plantar fasciitis hasn’t kicked back in. One of our Soldiers contacted the race organizers for the Stillwater marathon and they are sponsoring a 12K for us during Memorial Day weekend. I’m looking forward to getting my first running T-shirt in Iraq.
Speaking of being on the road, the other day a US Soldier got run over by a Brit. (remember, one of my concerns about being here) The Soldier was getting off the bus and was crossing the road at the front of the bus and the Brit decided to pass the bus. The Soldier wasn’t killed but she had to be taken to the hospital. I was telling Grandma Dart about the incident and when we were ending our call, she said, “Don’t get run over by one of those damn Brits!” Love it! That’s a good Swedish Lutheran for ya!
So with everything that I miss in life outside of uniform, I will certainly appreciate them more than ever once I get back to that life. At the moment, I’m learning to find joy in the small things that pop up during my day. Mail is an especially good one for a small joy!
Paul Bakken: Thanks for the awesome care package!!!! What a great May Day treat!
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Before we turned the calendar to May your mom and dad, along with a few other couples, met for dinner and helped me surprise Paul on his 60th birthday April 30. Lots of laughs as you can imagine. But the very BEST part of the day was coming home and making a big X across April marking one month closer to your return home.
ReplyDeleteMissing you, proud of you, and thinking of you every day.
Jan B.