Thursday, May 01, 2008

One week home

I've been home a week, and am thoroughly enjoying life without a pistol belt.

It is colder here.
It has snowed twice since I've been home, a contrast to the 100 degree weather of my recent home.

MBA Graduation.
I got to see my wife walk in graduation on my behalf for my MBA. I wasn't expected home in time, and rather than change things up, it was good for her to get some recognition. And we got a nice hand from the crowd when it was announced she was walking for her husband serving in Iraq. And a nice point was that my former Scoutmaster, Chris Lansing, was the keynote speaker for the Marriott school ceremony we attended. I loved my MBA experience, and the only regret that I had about it was that my second year was interrupted by my call to service. I am proud to have served, but regret that I could not enjoy that second year of the MBA as I did my first.

Telling stories.
Folks want to talk about my experiences. I have mixed feelings about this. I write alot about it, which meets my need to express. Further, like church mission experiences, it is easier to share these things with others with similar experiences, and there is no one around me like that. It is alien to them. Additionally, I don't feel like I was in anything particularly newsworthy, I was just doing my job- I wasn't a trigger puller, and didn't have any powerful combat-type experiences, just trying to make a difference with the limited responsibilities I was given.

Life without a job.
We've eaten out a lot. Nathan's celebrated a birthday and becoming a teenager. It has been good to have time to spend with the children. But I'm a bit stir-crazy. I've enjoyed the 3 xs a week early morning basketball. I have much room for improvement in the basketball arena. I enjoy not shaving. I have lots of mail to sort through, and there are other various tasks that have accumulated during my extended absence.

MVP award goes to my wife for all her work during my deployment. My children have greeted me without any of the hesitancy or distancing we'd been warned about by those trying to help us with redeployment.

It is good to be home.

2 comments:

JohnE said...

congratualations,
exiting is such a drama isn;t it,interesting to see the 'godfather' is till there( the professor)
Will Sgt Tim take the baton and write a blog on the place. No didn;t think so.
I am sure you are pleased to be back on 'home' soil.
Albeit in the cold season, no need to worry it won;t take you long to reaclimatise.
Now that you have gone, no more Numaniyah links stories or goings on. I am sure you will have great stories, especially with some of the serious tit for tat arguments that occured, with you as the mediator.
Stay healthy,


regards

john

Dana said...

John,

Yes, a bit of drama going out, but not too much. I enjoyed the process thoroughly, lack of sleep excepted.

As per the cold season- went up the canyon via mountain bike with my sweetie- we passed a very large patch of dirty white stuff....I thought, what is that? And then I realized, SNOW!

Yes, we were able to get the professor brought on as an interpreter working for my replacement, Steve.

MSG Tim left a month prior to me, so no Numaniyah blogging from him, and Steve's not a blogger, either. So probably not going to be much news coming out of Numaniyah unless the CAAT/CMATT side has some bloggers.