Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Heavy Heart

Our Marine left for Iraq today. Hubs flew to NC to see him off. I was just sick that I could not be there too, but I needed to be home to get blonde rascal situated in his new school.

Hubs sent a few pics that he took this morning with his phone...

Our Marine is the handsome smiling one on the far right! Wow, look at those young faces...those faces will be protecting us a world away while we sleep peacefully at night.



Here he is (in the middle) before they all got on buses that would take them to Cherry Point, NC where they would board a plane headed to Germany (we think) and then Iraq.

Sigh.

I have fought the lump in my throat and tears welling in my eyes all day.

I talked to him last night to tell him bye. I told myself that I would be strong and not cry....but I turned into a blubbering, sniffling, snotty mess at the end of the call.

You may have jumped 3 feet when you opened my blog and some righteous rock & roll came blasting out at you! Sorry. (If it is too loud you are too old just turn your volume down for crying out loud) The fact is am a fan of My Hero by the Foo Fighters. Last night when I got into bed, I reflected on the fact that I had evidently had bought the cheapest alarm clock available, because it is only a radio alarm...no buzzer option. This was never an issue... until we moved exactly 15 miles from nowhere and there is no radio reception. Whenever I have had to set my alarm this summer, I have set it to "static" as that is my only option. Back to last night, I turned on the alarm to set it to some static...when loud and clear came "Hero" through the speaker.

When our hero joined the Marines a year & a half ago, I knew this day would eventually come.

There have been thousands one or two times through the years that I have wanted to strangle him with my bare hands....that is my prerogative as a mom. But I don't want anyone or anything else to harm him.

I am vacillating emotionally between scared and proud. Thankfully, I have my faith in God and confidence in the training he has received to soothe my fears.

And pride? Please, my buttons are bursting with pride. Nothing is as noble as serving your country in my opinion.

We are now looking forward to getting emails, pictures and phone calls from him. And sending him packages chocked full of any and all goodies that he wants. And counting down the months until his feet are back on U.S. soil.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

My DH served 23 years in the military and so I know exactly what you are going through only I was the military spouse. I can tell you that the men and women of the US Forces are well trained....and miss us just as much as us them. God Bless America, your family and your son!

kristen lewis said...

You have every right to be proud of that boy. I am so thankful that men like him are willing to defend our country. I am so sorry that moms like you have to sacrifice peace of mind and physical closeness. You are amazing. Love you!

Autum said...

Oh Brooke, what a tough day this must have been for you. I'll definitely be saying a special prayer for your family! I know I'm probably not too far behind you. Casey is still training, and I'm so thankful for every day he's on American soil. {{{hugs}}}

trish said...

Hi Brooke,
I am definitely keeping your Marine in my prayers. Please pass along to him, a great big Thank You from our family, for standing in the gap. I have a great deal of respect for those young boys over there! Ladies too.
I would love to see any of your quilting that you have done. I am a very fresh newby in this territory. Most of my fabric is bought here or there (not a lot to choose from in the deeps woods). Plus some hand me downs. So not sure if it "goes" but giving it my best. :o)
Have a great day!
Sincerely ~ Tricia Anne

Mary said...

What can I say?? I know to an extent how proud you are, my cousin just got out of the marines, was in 6 years, and made it to captain. He was in Iraq twice, and just as a cousin, there is a part of you that's scared, yet you also know that God is right there, has a hand on his shoulder at all times. Love you girl!!

Vintage Chicken said...

Lots of hugs and prayers for you and your son, during this new phase of life!

Thank you for raising a son, that we as a Nation can be proud to have protecting us!

Lori E. said...

There is my answer to a few of many questions I fired at you yesterday. I know your heart is heavy, just know that he is firmly on the Eaton prayer list and God cares about the desires of your heart. I am so proud of him too and so thankful to him and all of them who serve to preserve our freedom.

Lori E. said...

Oh,I also meant to add that I love that song, it is one of my favorites to play on "Rock Band" and it is very appropriate for this blog entry!!!!!

Angie said...

You're SO right...there's nothing more noble than what our military guys and gals do for the people of this country. Our thanks to you guys and a BIG ol' TX thank you to your marine!

Unknown said...

I didn't know he had deployed. I pray for his safety and for your comfort. How proud you must be too. What a wonderful big brother to set a great example of service.