Don't let the fat chick beat you!: American Soldier

"Don't let the fat chick beat you"?

I have been racing for about 5 years now. I am not a typical runner or even triathlete. I fight with serious medical conditions every step of the way, but each step makes me stronger. I have two boys both with special needs and I have learned to chalk that up to making me stronger as well.

It is with sad heart that I must report that lupus has won the battle this year, but trust me when I say the war is far from over! My racing days are not over by any stretch of the imagination. This is just a minor setback that will make me stronger.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

American Soldier

5 April 2012

This picture was taken the day I left Iraq in 2004.

Last night one of my Facebook friends (the mother of a friend of mine) posted “Dear God in heaven, please watch over Michael, keep him safe…”and it got me to thinking. This lady has three kids, one daughter (teacher) and two sons (soldiers), I spoke to her on the one once (a long time ago) and she is the sweetest person I have ever I have ever had the chance to speak to. She has waved good bye to both of her boys multiple times as they were sent overseas to either Iraq or Afghanistan. I spent 14 months in Iraq with her older son way back when, so I have somewhat of an understanding what life is like over there. When I was deployed my mom and dad took my kids for me and worried every second of every day I was gone. She gets the privilege of dealing worrying about two children being in harm’s way.

These are some of the guys (and gal) I worked with.

As I type this I am sitting on my bed with my dogs curled up on either side of me, fan blowing because it is a little warm, TV on, flushing toilet less than 15 feet away, running water and, well, do I really need to go on? Oh! And there are no explosions going off anywhere near me! I hear people complaining about stupid stuff, and I am just as guilty as the next guy, and there are people who make these issues look so petty it isn’t even funny. I was medically discharged from the military because of a non-combat related injury (nerve damage) I sustained while in Iraq. At first I was bitter and I had nothing respectful to say. After a fairly short period of time I finally realized that not only did I come home alive I came back with all my limbs attached. I realized that people I care about are going back time and time and time again. Some of them are coming back with the majority of their marbles missing. Most are coming back with nightmares.

I would love for everyone to take a moment and actually think about how lucky we are over here safe. Think about what these men and women are doing for us. I do not care if you agree with the reason we are in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, think about the service members. Think about their loved ones.

Any and all prayers for the soldiers currently serving, a special prayer for those who are serving in harm’s way, and a special mention for Michael, Carl and AJ would be greatly appreciated.

~If you hear that someone is speaking ill of you, instead of trying to defend yourself you should say: "He obviously does not know me very well, since there are so many other faults he could have mentioned"~