On Saturday, we went to Soldier Son’s Reserve unit headquarters for probably our last FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting. These people have been so supportive to us family members and friends of our deployed soldiers. They’ve sent us monthly newletters, e-mails, and made monthly phone calls to ask how we’re doing. They’ve been there to answer questions and had monthly meetings and outings to get us through this deployment. At the meeting on Saturday, a group of young military wives and girlfriends sat in the first row. They seem to have benefited a lot from the bonding opportunities provided by the FRG. Big Daddy and I benefited most from the information made available.
One thing we learned at this meeting was that there will probably be a period of adjustment once our soldiers return home. We kind of expected that. But they explained that even though our soldiers are happy to be home, they may still long for the camaraderie they felt with their Army buddies while deployed. They may have trouble coming down from the heightened sense of alertness and awareness that is so important for survival over there. They may even want to go back to finish the missions they were achieving.
All of this information still didn’t prepare me for the e-mail I got last night. Although he is scheduled to come home sometime next month, he sends me this note with the subject line “Back to Iraq!” that says:
wtf? He’s a month away from finally coming home, and he’s thinking about going back already. This is probably the first time I’m kind of happy that he’s committed to serving in the Reserves for a few more years. I don’t think he can just up and quit to go back to Iraq. Maybe by the time he’s allowed to make this decision, he’ll be too comfortable back home enjoying mama’s home-cooked meals.
