Iraq Contractor's Family Support Center

Please note: These random thoughts of mine are just that, my thoughts. Please do not take offense at them, and do not read into them anything other than the fact that it is a glimps of my life through my keyboard.

D finally sent me his snail mail address. I told hime he couldn't get any cookies [his daughter bakes them from scratch] until he sent it [I've been asking for a week now], and suddenly he rememberd.

D called about 9 a.m. my time - 8 p.m. his time, and said that he'd just gotten released by the hospital. Then we lost the connection. That was good for my heart. Then he called back and we dropped the connection again. Third time's the charm and we used up the final few minutes on the card without dropping the line.

Turns out he and two other guys suffered minor injuries when a mortar went off near them. I don't know how the others were wounded, but D took a piece of shrapnel to his shoulder, and some rocks pelted them. He's going to send the shrapnel home along with the shirt he was wearing. He said it's pretty scary over there. Just the other day, Saturday, he said, some mortar landed about 1/2 block away. The fact that the camps around --- was also in the news doesn't make me feel any better.

One of the guys over there emailed me a photo of D! We're so exicited! Haven't seen that guy's face for a while.

I traveled up and down the East Coast during the middle of July on business, and all around me, kind strangers stopped and took pictures of me and sent my husband and the men and women in Iraq their prayers, thoughts and best wishes. I printed out the pictures as post cards and sent them off, one a day, when I returned. This one is from Baltimore, with the lady who rescued me from eternally going in circles on the "Beltway".

These past few months have been quite a challenge, but I am pleased to report that I did/am doing ok. Not super-duper, but not bad, either. I imagine I'd eventually get good at it as I can see improvement even at this juncture. ...

I have not heard from you today, and it makes me nervouse. I am wondering how you are doing and how you are being treated. ... I am worried about mortars and such and are you taking your malaria pills.

...it's 11:30 pm in [Iraq]. Maybe you are sleeping. I hope so. Rest will definately help you feel better. When I can eek out some sleep myself, I know the whole world improves. ...

D has been having a difficult time staying motivated at work. I know it is partly because he really wants to be in Iraq and partly because it is difficult working with people who don't care. ... I'm trying to be encouraging. Reminding him we'll be moving soon. That things will work out. He's talking about getting his Class A (Commercial) Driver's license. ... I ordered a few books from www.amazon.com. Maybe that will give him something else to focus on. Secretly, however, I wonder if that means he will return to Iraq, but with a different job description.

A few of the wonderful folks at www.operationmilitarypride.org recently assisted me in sending some Support, Encouragement and Thank You's to our "adopted" soldier and the FSE. 35 people participated, sending 131 cards! I packed them all up yesterday and sent them on their way to Iraq. Below is just a small sampling.

Life changes in the blink of an eye - or the ring of the telephone. Events set in motion by a crisp September morning 5 years ago, come in to play. And on Tuesday, JH of ------, called my DH on his cell phone. And now, the wheels are in motion that will probably see DH back in Iraq for Thanks Giving, Christmas, New Years and all the other holidays between this September and the Next.

And I cry and my heart aches from the memories two summers past when DH did his test run with a KBR subsidiary. And though he has been home these last few years, though he lay beside me and held me in his arms, his mistress was always there, just out of site, calling him. I see his eyes sparkle with enthusiasm as he talks of her. I hear the timbre of his voice animated with a promise he made before he met me, an oath he swore to keep until death. An oath of a US Marine. And while he is too old to re-enlist, he has found a way to serve Uncle Sam, none the less. How can I, a mere mortal, compete with that? And so all I can do is give him my heart, my blessings and promise to be there when he needs me.

"The kids are grown; they'll be fine. You can do it," he says. "You're tough," he tell me. Then he gently slices into my heart, using my own words against me: "After all, the only thing tougher than a Marine is - his wife, right?" I wince. "You can do it," he repeats, as if I'm the one who endured nightly mortars and returned home with a little pink scar and a shrapnel torn shirt.

I can. I will. I have always been an independent, tough person. Widowed in my 20s, I vowed to never let anything get me down or stop me. But I'm over 40 now, and out of practice. The personal, economic blessings of freedom bought with blood not my own, have made me soft. It will take a while for my skin to thicken, my muscles to harden, and my heart to expand its capacity. But I can and WILL do it, just as all of you do, one day at a time, from phone call to letter to phone call. And the sun will rise in Iraq and light the sands on fire and then sink below the horizon to rise here over the sands of the Great Basin of Nevada. And I will remember that in the scheme of the world, we are but grains of sand, yet if we stand together, bound by our tears and our spilled blood, we are a formidable force.

Ok, some of you have noticed that I've been acting a little spazoid lately (maybe a LOT spazoid?). Now that we actually have some dates, paperwork, and etc. and I actually have something to DO with a tentative (hurry up & wait) timeline, I am feeling much better. Gotta have a plan, even though it's pretty nebulous at times.

David has accepted a position with [some company] and will be leaving for training in South Carolina in the next few weeks. After 4 weeks or so of training, he will wing his way across the Atlantic and head for Iraq. He is all very pleased with the prospect and looking forward to returning to The Sand Box (I DID tell him that Nevada has plenty of sand, and we even get sand storms and brown outs, here...) More than likely, he will be embedded with his (beloved) US Marines fixing u p their IED-proof trucks after they roll over road-side bombs and such. (Apparently they purchase the truck and the maintenance package, which includes tools, spare parts and a factory trained master mechanic.) To say the least, I am not nearly as excited as he is. I guess that is the price I pay to have seen him in his Dress Blues on our wedding day ;-)

S----, please let S---- know that we're thinking of him and that D--- will be over there soon. Uncle M---, I know you'd be there in a heatbeat if they'd let you - Semper Fi.

Anyhow, this is a blatant solicitation for extra prayers and/or good thoughts for the next year or so.

contractor ribbon
Purchase your own magnetic ribbon at
http://www.americancontractorsiniraq.com/
and show your support. When the day is done,
may all of our contractors return home safe.

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( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/civiliansinraq )
to connect with others who are caring for and supporting
Contractors in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

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