No Better Day, No Better Way

Below is the text of a fax (redacted, of course) sent to the organization that runs the rodeo in our town. I know our son hates this kind of stuff and I know I’m in for a tongue lashing if they do respond and honor him at the rodeo. Except for a baseball game on the 4th, I can think of no better day, no better place and no better way to honor all of America’s Soldiers and to honor my personal Hero (makes me teary-eyed just thinking about it!)

Re: Acknowledging A Soldier at the Rodeo

We are residents and will be in attendance at the Rodeo on Monday, July 4th. In attendance with us will be our son who is home on leave from Iraq where he is stationed with the United States Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. He has been deployed since January and will return to Iraq on July 12th.

Is there a way to acknowledge our son during the Rodeo that day?
Thank you very much, His Proud Parents...

Since this was sent rather late, I’m not sure anything will happen, but I'll post if it does…

In the mean time, I have been filling my time by annoying the hell out of my soldier by calling his [now activated] cell phone a couple of times a day and reveling in being able to call him whenever I have the urge to speak with him and hear his voice... and hear him say (accompanied by a big sigh), "Yes, Ma? I love you, too, Ma... I gotta go (laughing).

And IMing whenever I hear the Moo, but my fingers are so light on the keyboard -- not having to think about how to phrase a question or worry about saying something that might upset him (like the death of his friend) or prioritizing what to say and ask for fear the connection will be unceremoniously lost or cut short by duty (the infamous "gtg ma. mwahs" (translation: got to go, Mom. Kisses...) Now my head and heart are so light in knowing that he is not there... The best I can describe the feeling is -- know how you feel when you know a happy secret about someone and you're talking to that person and you just want to blurt it out and are barely able to contain a smile? That's a little of what it feels like with my son HERE and not THERE.

He has been to a mall and not been worried about the crowds... He tells me it feels no different than "the old days" and he has been to a fireworks display and said he only jumped once -- and that was when someone threw a cherry bomb close to him, but he says otherwise it was just like "the old days". As young parents, we had a joke about "BK" -- before kids... Will my son now have a "BI"?

We have also been finalizing travel arrangements and the trips to and from airports... and reconfiguring sleeping arrangements (we have one aunt, one uncle, some of our friends, and one of our son's friends traveling here to see and love him before he returns to that place). Of course, there is the shopping list to re-stock the house with foods not seen (except in care packages) since his last trip here at Christmas and so that I can be sure all of his favorite meals can be made... Tomorrow I am going into a baking frenzy making all of his favorite treats... and then there's the cleaning thing (putting on my best Eeyore voice, "Oh, yeah".) Not that the house needed cleaning -- it was just something to pass the time until he gets here this weekend.

And as I have attended to all this busy work, I have been compiling a mental list of things I want to ask, things I need to ask, things I dare not ask... If I get answers to my questions, it will make an interesting post. Right now, I can not wait to be three days older... actually, I wish I were a year older...

Finally, a big THANK YOU to all in the blog community (bloggers and readers alike) for your kind thoughts and wishes and your outpouring of support for us, but especially for our soldier!! You'll forgive me if my posts are a bit irregular for the next week or so. I just know you'll understand.