Huge Disappointment

All week. All stinking week I have been looking forward to the game on July 1st to see Josh say, “Hi” to me from Iraq via Fox Sports Net. And what happens? They play it on FRIDAY while I am out with my Grandmother! (OK, no offense to Granny and Aunt Mary, but it was not worth missing THIS.)

So, I am taping the re-play of the game in hopes that they will in turn replay the message from Josh.

I had bought a DVD-R just for the occasion… (and properly set it up, I might add, all by my self!)

But I cried for a full hour after I found out that I missed it.

Was this worth crying over? You bet.

Special Thanks Kyle Miller

Miller , the blessing of the Lord, "May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace."

Batir et commbattre.

And it must be hard

The loss of Spc. Koch has hit me hard. I’ve never met the man; he doesn’t drill with Josh; and his family doesn’t FRG with me. But he’s the first of this deployment, and so I feel a sense of loss, just the same. It’s real for the first time, this deployment. It’s one thing to pretend to be brave and talk big. Its an entirely different matter to go to the armory and listen to see how the Army is going to tell you your spouse… I won’t even say it… I can’t…

Meetings like this are far from what I consider in the normal scope of life. Why must such things be considered? Why must such things be handled at an armory, of all places? Sure, this is a volunteer military, so Josh didn’t have to go. But signing up for this does not make it any less of a horrible thing to talk about. Signing up for it does not make it any less hard. Signing up for it does not take away my right to feel pain when facing the horrible reality of it all. Signing up for it just means that Josh is more noble, brave, and self sacrificing then most men I know.

A loss for Minnesota

Spc. Koch , "May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace."

You know, talking about the mission and how low the US losses are is really hollow. It's just talk to make the powers that be feel better. The problem is for the family that lost Spc. Koch, the loss is 100%; they likely don't give a damn anymore about the mission or how he died for his country. All we can, and should say to such a family is, "Thank you."

Rex Montis.

Blonde Moment of the Week

I generally listen to Relevant Radio during my drives. So, yesterday, I got into my car for my end of work day commute and flip on the radio. The first thing I hear is Drew Mariani’s grief stricken voice talking about how the Pope had died. I started thinking, “No! This can’t be right. I knew he was old, but he wasn’t infirm like John Paul II.” And I started thinking about how horrible it was that this Pope had such short tenure. I start driving, and I hear, “Holy Father” this and “Holy Father” that. And I kept on listening, feeling a sense of general loss and grief for the Catholic Church. About 10 minutes into my commute, I hear the words, “John Paul the Second has died.”

Wow, do I feel dumb! Drew was replaying coverage from over a year ago.

God bless Benedict XVI, and may he live a long life!

Al-Zarqawi, dead

I keep the TV on at night so I trick myself into thinking I’m not alone; and for sanities sake so I don’t get up every time there’s a little noise. Sometime, after 4 am, I heard that Al-Zarqawi died in an air raid. I thought, now wouldn’t that be nice. And at 5 am, I thought, “Wait a second, my dreams don’t last this long…” And sure enough, he was a target in an air raid.

Though it is nice that we’re getting some of the bad-guys, I don’t think this means Josh is coming home sooner. But that’s just the way it is, I guess.