A beautiful, 70-degree day in Savannah yesterday. Shawn drove down for the weekend, the last time he will be allowed to leave the base before his Feb. 19 deployment to Afghanistan. Since he is trained for Black Hawk helicopter repair, he will not be directly on the front lines, but of course, there will be some danger. He described how the Afghanis routinely freeze missiles, stealthily plant them in the ground surrounding the U.S. FOBs, and run off. When these missiles melt, they soar off into the air and rain down upon the inner layer of the FOBs. But mostly he is worried about the acute boredom that will monopolize the experience. He will be in an FOB no bigger than a Walmart parking lot, with the same people, with nothing fun to do, for an entire year. He will sleep on the concrete floor inside a tent. He thinks they may provide some internet. Fast forward. When he leaves the Army in four years (he doesn't want to stay for a long-term career) he can do helicopter repair and other aircraft mechanics as a civilian, for a huge amount of money.
Yesterday, we drove downtown and walked along River Street and through the squares. The day was gorgeous and many people were out. We even saw the cutest little doggie wearing sunglasses.
Shawn has to leave on Monday to return to Ft. Campbell. I'm bracing myself for managing the anxiety that I know will follow. Being the mother of a soldier---the mother of anyone, for that matter---is the biggest emotional investment any woman will ever make.
1 comment:
I've been thinking about your son and hoping he would not have to go to the war zone. Like his mother, he's smart, so he'll be fine.
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