Home?

WARNING: The following post contains whiny and unappreciative content. Viewer discretion advised.

My brain still hasn't fully adjusted to the fact that Dave is "here" instead of "there". I think the thing I notice most is that I can call him, instead of having to wait for him to call me. And it's exciting to look at the calendar and see that Easter is only 2 1/2 weeks away, the next time he may come home. It's an entire hemisphere better than being in Iraq.

But he's not home.

A friend said to me last night, "oh, I'm so happy that he's home now!". She, in fact, repeated that throughout the evening. And actually I've heard that so many times in the last week, I've lost track.

Really? If your spouse or loved one was 1280 miles away from you, would you say he or she was home?

If the only thing that matters is the time that they spend in Iraq, then what was the time spent at Camp Shelby? Didn't we miss our loved ones then? Didn't we feel gaping hole in our hearts then? Camp Shelby was only 1120 miles away. Almost home, right?

Yes, Iraq is a war zone. Yes, Iraq is dangerous. A lot of really bad stuff happens there every day. People are trying to kill our soldiers every day. That is true. And Georgia is better than Iraq. But it's not home.