I was standing in the kitchen making dinner. Just going about trying to get dinner done before all my hungry boy's show up. On the menu: homemade hamburger helper, fresh strawberries, and greenback.
As I was stirring the meat a piece of paper caught my eye. There it was taped to my fridge, like it has been for six years. Tonight it spoke to me and I had to read it. "Our home is his sanctuary, his refuge and I work very hard to keep it that way." That was said by Alma Powell.
The last time Rusty was in Iraq I read an article on Alma Powell. This lady really impressed me, and I had to write that saying down.
Alma was talking about how she made sure that her husband was safe from all the worries of his day, and how she made it a soft place for him to land. I guess when you are married to the military, especially Colon Powell, you know what you are talking about.
I have tried very hard to live up to that. I just don't ask. I don't ask how a deployment was. I don't ask if they "are o.k." . I just don't ask.
While I love having the boys here I must admit that they sometimes scare me. I have walked in on some of their stories. I have seen some of the pictures. I have heard a conversation start with " hey Rusty do you have flash backs...?"
Maybe I am sticking my head in the sand, but I do not want to hear their stories. I do not want to hear about how many people they have killed. I do not want to hear about war.
Instead, I feel that my job is to give them a safe place. A place where they are not looked at as baby killers. A place where they can have a flash back and still be safe. This is a safe house for those marines.
Don't get me wrong. I know that these are harden vets and I am serious when I say that they will shoot you dead and not think twice about it. I know these guy's will have struggles for the rest of their lives. I do know all of this. I just choose to ignore it.
I once heard a saying that said "war is what young men do and old men talk about."
This statement is true. May God bless our young men and the old men who guide them.
5 comments:
True God bless all our service men and women. Then and Now.
A friend of mine Kath from the rusty spigot (Her link was in with the six) said yesterday, what mom's don't want to hear when you call from Iraq....
It went something like this:
your scared and a missile just missed you, you told everyone to get down and someone said your the only one standing...
War leaves scars on the hearts of those who serve no matter what capacity they serve in..Scars are a lifetime mark. Some wear those scars better than other, some don't even show them.
Thanks for posting this, your right a safe place to land is exactly what they need. (Hugs)Indigo
Amen.
Ahh Kelli, thanks for the link. And thanks again for what you do for the Marines. Linda in Washington state
AMEN TO THAT...I AGREE WITH YOU 100%
LIZ
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