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On October 27th, 2003, my dad, along with a few other people in his squardon were gathered in the airport where they were readying themselves for a four to five month long depature to Iraq. "I don't want you to go Daddy..." I thoguht to myself. I was fighting back a river of tears as my dad went to the area where baggage is weighed and checked before being loaded onto the plane, they were inspecting the numerous rifles and guns that would be vital to curvive in a war zone.
Checking the weaponry took a bit longer tha I thought as I stood behind my mom, brother, and sister. My mom was already in tears, she was wipping them awaywith a tissue she'd grabbed from her purse. "W-when do you have to be upstairs to talk to the news people?" I had asked, my voice a little shaky as I tugged on my dad's arm.
"In a little bit honey, why? Are you that anxious to get rid of me?" My dad chuckled at his own joke, and I let a small smile cross my lips.
"No...Jus' wondering..." I said as I shuffled my feet and looked up towards the ceiling of the airport.
About an hour or so after the baggage had been checked, we all trudged up the stairs towards the depature gate and the waiting local news reporters. My dad left to go to his business with them as I, along with my mom, brother, and sister waited in a row of cushioned seats. My dad finished his interview in about ten or so minutes and far too soon for my liking, he was gathering his carry on bag and walking towards the departure gate that would be taking him to a place I has wished he'd never have to go.
Time slipped slowly through my fingers as I counted down the days until his return from what I imagined a hell on Earth. Over the months I noticed my attitude towards most people had turned bitter. That would have to do with the fact that my dad seemed to have forgotten about me. Over the months he was gone, he would have a fifteen minute morale call that he would use talking to my mom or sister, or brother. He never seemed to mention me in his e-mails let alone send me any.
Stress had burried itself into my being as I heard my mom mention rocket bombings and suicide bombings that were occuring near where my dad was staying. I had seen pictures of my father via e-mail he sent to my sister and mom, and noticed how much stress he had to deal with over there because in the pictures it was rather obvious that he had lost a rather large amount of weight.
Christmas and New Years were probably the times in which I was affected the most. My dad had been in the military for my whole life, so his missing Christmas and other important events was nothing really new, but the added fact that he was in a war zone seemed to change the whole feeling to it. I felt selfish and spoiled that I was sitting in my living room, all nice an warm, surroinded by my family, while he was out there in the feild alone and with strangers. There was no break for him, no such thing as a holiday to him while he was fighting.
After Christmas was over, I had really isolated myself as a way to compensate for my father's suffering. I had even begun to push my friends away from me, causing them to become rather worried. I was never really sure if my siblings or mother noticed my odd behavior until they were informed by my friend's mom. Which was a little annoying because of the fact that I was later bombarded with questions as to why I never talked to them.
It really didn't take that long for that little skirmish to end and things to return, slightly, back to normal. Although the anxiety I was feeling towards my dad's safety never died down.
March 5th, 2004, around 6 o'clock P.M., I was once again in the airport, waiting to welcome home my dad after roughly five months of the most stressfull thing in my entire life.
"Oh! Look! There he is!!" yelled my mom as she motioned towards the left-hand area of the airport, where people were piling out of the gates. A huge smile crossed my lips as I skipped towards the gate. "YAY! Daddy's home!!" I yelled repetitively in my head,
"Hey there girlfriend, miss me?" My dad asked as he grinned towards me.
"Of course I missed you!!" I laughed out as I gave him a huge bear huge, tears of joy bursting down my cheeks like raging rivers. All the stress that I had been feeling was washed away the minute I saw him.
He was home safe, and that was all that mattered to me. The nightmare that had seemingly lasted a lifetime, to me, had finally ended as I was held in my father's strong, caring, and warm arms. ....
******
Yes...That's my report. Hah.. Sorry...it's all sucky.... but I dunno..I went into a random angst moment and had the urge to let other people know... I guess it helps get that monsterous weight off one's chest sometimes, huh?
sweatdrop Yeah..well...I've gotta go. It's 4:32 and I have no idea when my sister will be home...so..Yeah.. bye! talk2hand
 Yanachii · Wed Jun 29, 2005 @ 11:30am · 1 Comments |
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