A Soldier's Story: January 2008

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Getting ready to go

Yesterday I spent the day at the headquarters getting all of my paperwork in order. It was a somewhat sobering experience. I can't even count the amount of paperwork I had to review. It makes you realize that the possibility is there. Most of us (soldiers) never think it will be us that plays bullet or IED catcher. More times than not we think we are too well trained protected and armed for that to happen to us. The fact is that on occasion it does happen but there are lots of survior stories as wll and I think most of us think we will fall into that category.

Today Drake had surgery on his leg to lengthen his achilles tendon this is the first of two surgeries. I'm so glad I was able to be here for the first one, it will make things easier on me when I won't be here for the second one.

Drake cracked me up today when one of the nursed asked him if he was allergic to shellfish and he replied, "what does that have to do with this surgery are you putting shellfish in my anesthesia?" He is in good spirits and doing well.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Just starting out

Well first off hello to everyone that may take time to read what I have to say.

I welcome your comments and hope this will serve as a place where my family and friends can see what is going on in my world on a daily basis.

I feel I should share a little background on why I'm here doing this. There are a couple of reasons. The first one is that I am deploying for Iraq on about a month having only been told about 3 weeks ago that I was going. Secondly I just returned from a cruise in which blogging was a theme of the cruise. That sparked my interest and I thought I might be able to share my thoughts with more than just my close friends and family.

So here I am about 4 weeks away from leaving and I have a wedding which will be my second for myself and my future wife. My son is having surgery to help correct the way he walks and I have to conduct my change of command for my company. Needless to say my plate is full.

I hope this sets the stage. I encourage anyone who reads this to give me some constructive feedback.

Thanks

For my Awesome Wife on Mother's day

On Mother’s Day…

I think of the person that is closest to me and how I couldn’t have picked a better roll model for Drake and Ashtyn. I am so lucky to have such a spectacular woman in my life, and our kids don’t realize it, but they have the best Mom in the world.

I know I have said it before but you are everything to me. My best friend, my, my wife (of course duh), and most important to everyone else around us a fantastic Mother.

The things that you do that you don’t even realize set such a great example for our children. It’s the little things that matter and our kids will be so much better for it. Many times I know you feel like you are being too hard but even then you are setting an example, and our kids will thank you for it.

I am so proud of you. I know you think I am bias, but I understand how hard it is for you to operate in your profession and the pressures you face. Add in your motherly duties and I understand how easy it could be to get overwhelmed by events. Your attitude is so awesome. You constantly inspire me to be a better person just to keep up with you. My job and our current circumstances make your job even harder. Being a mother can be tough enough, add in a full time job that puts your life on the line, and then toss in being the spouse of a deployed service member….. you my dear are a “gem” as my Dad would say.

You make me so happy, and by making me happy I can’t help but want to make you the happiest woman on this earth. You truly bring out the best in me and I am sure our children are grateful for that. You have made me a better Dad because you are such an awesome Mother.

Thoughtful…. Is the word I use most when describing you to others. I continue to be amazed by you. Many people think about doing things but you actually think up something and follow through. You are always planning activities to bring our family closer together. Now I know you may give the credit to other people or websites but it is you that is always seeking out ways to bring us closer together. You are the hub of a wagon wheel that we call our family.

My darling wife you never give yourself enough credit and on this day I want you to know how much I appreciate what you do for our family. Mother is just a word and when I look at you and what you do, I now know what the meaning of that word is.

I Love You so very much,

Brent