"Play Ball!"
"If you're not going to get to ride--you must obey my commands!" That's what Callie would say if she could talk. She kind of does, with a sort of telepathy, and yeah I take her to the park and we do the ball thing until she just decides to jog home--with me following. Callie will be 14 years old in July.
Little Egypt has found lucrative employment as a professional with the federal government. Jobs are scarce in her specialized line of occupation--and she took, rather reluctantly, a job in Lawrence, Kansas. To make a long story short, the deadline was upon her/us and I spent about 24 hours straight helping her pack and do last minute things for her move across country. This leaves me a bachelor once more--at least Little Egypt is not deployed to the war, wearing 50 pounds of body armor--and getting shot at by Taliban.
I came back from the holidays feeling drained--I really wish I hadn't gone home... The Blizzard of 2009, and the long flights there and back left me drained, mes amis. We both felt the flu or some other bug coming up on us, so while Little Egypt slept, to be rested for her long road trip--I decided I would not do the 200 KM in Casa Grande with my Rando Brothers and Sisters--and get the car packed.
Little Egypt early Saturday Morning, January 2, 2010, about to leave for her appointment at university in Lawrence, KS.
Two years deployed with the Arizona Army Nat'l Guard, 15 of those months spent on a remote FOB on the Afghan-Pakistan border. Almost two years of unemployment on her return in 2008--a year to re-adjust from the war... Now having to leave home again--we need the income, and somehow Little Egypt has to move her career forward. Callie misses Bev already.
Gentle Readers of This Blog--some of the men and women who came back from Afghanistan like my wife, had few options, and many had no choice but to volunteer for deployment again. I know soldiers that have deployed--or been on tours--three and four times. There are not many jobs here in Tucson or Arizona. Little Egypt says that the pay is high and the benefits good on deployment. These soldiers don't want sympathy--just respect and understanding. They volunteered for the most part, and serve willingly. I don't believe they're in it for the glory--it is just a means to an end. Money for college, health benefits, support a family.
Got to un-pack. There are more brevets to ride soon enough!
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