"just cuz I don't like what you do, doesn't make me sooooo very proud of you"
Last night I had to go and do one of the hardest things I have ever done. I went with Adam and his family to day goodbye and send off Adam's older brother P.J. We first took all the kids trick or treating so that they could have a fun night before all the tears would be sheded. At around 7pm we got to the base in Greenville and sat around with PJ for about a half hour. Different military people went up front and gave their support and others gotten promoted before leaving, but right around 8pm everyone started crying. It was pretty sad for me to be the first one to start but the family that was next to us was a military dad, his wife, and their daughter. She was dresses up in her princess dress clutching her daddy's neck crying while saying, "daddy don't leave me". It broke my heart. In the back of my heart I could only think of two thing: thank god my dad isn't leaving; this could be Adam and my kid some day. We all walked out as a family to the buses and while waiting to hear PJ's name yelled for him to go on the bus, we stood around him while he held on to his girlfriend. This little sister Hannah was in Adam's arms crying the hardest. This is her big brother (by blood) and he was leaving and she even understood, at age 5, that she might not get to see him again. Out of all of us, she took it the hardest. It was a close tie for second between his mom, his girlfriend, and me. I won't deny that I am gonna miss PJ very very much, but truthfully all I could think of is how this could be Adam in a year or two. He was good to me and held on to me for most of the night and did shed a tear when I looked at him and said "I don't know how I'm gonna do this when you leave". After PJ's name was called and he got on the bus, we went over to the side where he was sitting so we could wave and see him off. Finally around 8:45pm the buses took off and we were left standing there as this huge family, holding on to one another crying. The littlest kept looking at everyone and asking why we were crying. When we said that we were gonna miss PJ, she just looked at us and said "I'm not, he's gonna be back soon". She just didn't understand what was happening. We finally got back to the car and drove home. Adam and I sat in the back and he held on to me while I cried the whole way back. I just hope he understands that for the next week or so I'm gonna be sooooo clingy.
The main reason I'm making this entery is because of an email I got from my mom this morning and I want to share it with people. She got it from a teacher she works and that I had in Jr. High. He has 2 sons over in Iraq right now and they exchange stories about my boyfriend and me with ones about his sons. The email said:
Nicole - F.Y.I.
I received this from Mr. Mesko here at Richards - He has two sons in Iraq and is
a strong supporter of us being in Iraq.
Love, Mom
Can you circulate this? This is a letter from Ray Reynolds, a medic in the Iowa
Army National Guard, serving in Iraq:
As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say
thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor
job of covering everything that has happened. I am sorry that I have not been
able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home.
And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is
noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is the list of things
that has happened in Iraq recently: (Please share it with your friends and
compare it to the version that your paper is producing.)
* Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
* School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
* Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored there so
education can occur.
* The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships
faster.
* The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
* Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in
Iraq.
* The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
* 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the
war.
* Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in
place.
* Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
* Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
* Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
* Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US
soldiers.
* Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
* Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent
the spread of germs.
* An interim constitution has been signed.
* Girls are allowed to attend school.
* Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in
30 years.
Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us there. I have met
many, many people from Iraq that want us there, and in a bad way. They say they
will never see the freedoms we talk about but they hope their children will. We
are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on
these facts. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of
rebuilding has been portrayed, email this to a friend and let them know there
are good things happening.
Ray Reynolds, SFC Iowa Army National Guard
234th Signal Battalion
All I have to ask is that after reading this copy of an email is you pray for everyone over there trying to do good. Pray for your loved ones, or others that you might not even know. Whether or not this is someone you know, it is someones loved one that is over there. Just think what it would be like if it was your family member: brother, sister, mom, dad, husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend. Cuz to other people, that's what they are. Like I always tell my boyfriend, "just cuz I don't like what you do, doesn't make me sooooo very proud of you"! You don't have to agree, just be proud of them and give them your support!!!
The main reason I'm making this entery is because of an email I got from my mom this morning and I want to share it with people. She got it from a teacher she works and that I had in Jr. High. He has 2 sons over in Iraq right now and they exchange stories about my boyfriend and me with ones about his sons. The email said:
Nicole - F.Y.I.
I received this from Mr. Mesko here at Richards - He has two sons in Iraq and is
a strong supporter of us being in Iraq.
Love, Mom
Can you circulate this? This is a letter from Ray Reynolds, a medic in the Iowa
Army National Guard, serving in Iraq:
As I head off to Baghdad for the final weeks of my stay in Iraq, I wanted to say
thanks to all of you who did not believe the media. They have done a very poor
job of covering everything that has happened. I am sorry that I have not been
able to visit all of you during my two week leave back home.
And just so you can rest at night knowing something is happening in Iraq that is
noteworthy, I thought I would pass this on to you. This is the list of things
that has happened in Iraq recently: (Please share it with your friends and
compare it to the version that your paper is producing.)
* Over 400,000 kids have up-to-date immunizations.
* School attendance is up 80% from levels before the war.
* Over 1,500 schools have been renovated and rid of the weapons stored there so
education can occur.
* The port of Uhm Qasar was renovated so grain can be off-loaded from ships
faster.
* The country had its first 2 billion barrel export of oil in August.
* Over 4.5 million people have clean drinking water for the first time ever in
Iraq.
* The country now receives 2 times the electrical power it did before the war.
* 100% of the hospitals are open and fully staffed, compared to 35% before the
war.
* Elections are taking place in every major city, and city councils are in
place.
* Sewer and water lines are installed in every major city.
* Over 60,000 police are patrolling the streets.
* Over 100,000 Iraqi civil defense police are securing the country.
* Over 80,000 Iraqi soldiers are patrolling the streets side by side with US
soldiers.
* Over 400,000 people have telephones for the first time ever.
* Students are taught field sanitation and hand washing techniques to prevent
the spread of germs.
* An interim constitution has been signed.
* Girls are allowed to attend school.
* Textbooks that don't mention Saddam are in the schools for the first time in
30 years.
Don't believe for one second that these people do not want us there. I have met
many, many people from Iraq that want us there, and in a bad way. They say they
will never see the freedoms we talk about but they hope their children will. We
are doing a good job in Iraq and I challenge anyone, anywhere to dispute me on
these facts. If you are like me and very disgusted with how this period of
rebuilding has been portrayed, email this to a friend and let them know there
are good things happening.
Ray Reynolds, SFC Iowa Army National Guard
234th Signal Battalion
All I have to ask is that after reading this copy of an email is you pray for everyone over there trying to do good. Pray for your loved ones, or others that you might not even know. Whether or not this is someone you know, it is someones loved one that is over there. Just think what it would be like if it was your family member: brother, sister, mom, dad, husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend. Cuz to other people, that's what they are. Like I always tell my boyfriend, "just cuz I don't like what you do, doesn't make me sooooo very proud of you"! You don't have to agree, just be proud of them and give them your support!!!