Good News

Tomorrow - my son comes home from Iraq. We have been waiting for this day for a year. I am so excited I am about to bust. Even though he is 23 he is still my little boy and always will be. He has done his time in the Army and will finally get out in July. He should have gotten out in February 2004 but good ole Bush and his stop/loss kept him in there an extra year, with no pay raise because he did not re-enlist. What kind of bull is that? Why because he did not re-up he was still considered what he was when he should have gotten out. No promotion, no raise. It sucks for him. While others who were still doing their time were getting promoted and getting raises, he because they kept him on board didn't get anything. So why didn't he re-up? Well let's see this was his second time into Iraq and the government could not tell him whether or not they would send him back for a third time or send him to Afghanistan instead. So he said no thank you, I've served by country and I've seen enough hell holes for this lifetime. I am just glad he is coming back to the states. This has been a hard year and not anything I would ever want any mother, father, daughter, son, sister, etc. to go through. Everyday that you don't hear from them, you wonder are they all right. It is very stressful (I have gained over 25 pounds in the last year because of the stress). So happy days are here again, at least we hope because we can never be sure how our soldiers are going to return home to us. Most will be forever changed, either for the good or the bad depending on how they have dealt with what they had to do. Seeing the living conditions, trying to help people who don't want you there, including children who have so much hate instilled them they can't even see that you might be a kind person, to having to take someone out in order to save your own life or that of a comrade. The re-adjustment will not be easy, but he has his mama and you can bet I will do anything and everything I can for him. He served his country, I just hope his country will remember the sacrifice he made for them. For him and all the others like him, I will never forget what they have done and what they have given up. A lot of them their very life. Whether we belonged there or not, these men and women, they deserve our respect.