hmmm...haven't written in a long time, but i read a story today that i had to write somewhere. maybe more for myself than for any of you guys (all 3 of you who read this). but here goes...the abbreviated version: The story is written by a woman whose husband was deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom. That's not really a significant detail. But she has this conversation with him where he asks what he can ever do to repay her for all she does while he's gone. And this is her response (some parts taken out for brevity): "Well, you can never repay me. You will never get back these days. You can never go back and hug me when I was feeling loneliest or most frustrated, no matter how many millions of hugs you are planning for me upon your return... "You can never repay me, just as I can never repay you. No matter how many times I say thank you, it won't be enough for the endless days of endless heat. No matter how many flags I fly or prayers I say or votes I cast, it wont' be enough to make up for the freedoms and liberties you sacrificed for mine. "Yes, it is hard to be without you. Yes, I worry about you, and I worry about us without you. No, it isn't easy to be the ones left behind. In fact, I was feeling a little bad about it today, when I received an e-mail with a picture of soldiers (the lucky ones) sleeping. Sleeping, they were, on the sand, in full gear, with masks over their faces because of the dust. All of a sudden, I was ashamed at my ungratefulness and so thankful for my bed and pillow, and the blanket of security that they were affording me by giving up their own. I get a bed, a house, and a sand-free life. "You get to sleep on a cot, if it's not too hot or too noisy. You get to carry a radio and be on alert. You get to watch your friends die in a helicopter crash. You get to attend their memorials. You get to open America in a small box that was mailed 3 weeks ago. You get trying, harsh conditions, the full extent of which I will never understand. "If I ever complain about my situation, it will happen in a moment of weakness and selfishness and I will be wrong to do it. The truth is that I am very proud of you. I am proud of who you are and what you chose to do for a living. I am in awe of your selflessness." | 
