Back in the Land of Sand

Hello all, well here we are, back in the Middle East for another go.
This will be my last trip for quite awhile and I have never been so
anxious to get it done. I know we are only two days into it, but all
things considered with Christmas and all, I need/want to be at home
with my family... BUT, I also know that when I signed on that little
dotted line, I knew this could have been possible so I make the best
of it. I was hoping to start my updates yesterday, but when I went to
log in, it would not allow me to. I had a similar problem last trip
and was able to find a back door way in, but no go this time, so I
will resort to sending my updates via email to Lana and she will post
them for me, Thank you sweetie!!
On Wednesday, our departure day, Lana drove me to the terminal to
check in, we went and had a quick bite to eat and said our good byes,
god I hate that part. It was especially hard this time for both of us,
I had lots of time before taking off and could have just held her for
ever, but the tears would not have stopped either. That's the
killer part, the deep pit in your stomach and the huge lump in your
throat is a very uncomfortable feeling. So I sent her on her way
thinking that I was only going to have an hour or so before boarding,
not so. We were delayed almost an hour and a half, the weather and
freezing rain was being difficult. We finally lifted off at 8:30pm
local time and headed east. As we were clearing Trenton, my buddy Blair
sitting behind me points out a High School, all lit up and says that's
where his kids are playing basketball right now! We could have thrown
a rock and hit the school. Then a few more minutes down the road to
the east we fly right over Napanee, I could determine the exact
location of our house and wondered how Lana and the girls were doing.
I find out afterwards, Lana was "braiding" Vanessa's hair at that
moment. So, I'm thinking that we were meant to be looking out those
windows on that side of the plane for a reason. I had a warm somewhat
peaceful feeling as we were leaving North America and it made me feel
comfortable.
The remainder of the trip was good, we had a brief stopover in Germany
for fuel and food and then proceeded to our destination. Landed here
just before 8pm local time and got settled in to our spaces. A day and
a half has passed and I'm still trying to get adjusted with sleep and
all. Right now it is 2:50am, not so bad today because I have to work
in 45 minutes but it could be a long day. The weather here has changed
drastically since the last time, it is definitely winter. Down to
about 15 deg celsius at night and up to about 30 deg celsius during
the day, perfect working weather. So the countdown is on, I am
excited to get to work, makes the time go a little quicker. The
buzz of Christmas is starting to surface here on camp, just not sure
what it will entail. So.. I must sign off and get ready for work,
thanks all for voting on the site and if you have feedback at all,
don't hesitate to comment. I look forward to them. But don't feel
pressured to write something, I know your following it!! Till Next
time...

Support Our Troops
~M

P.S. I saw Kamal this morning, and as usual, his face lit up with a huge smile!

Back for another go. Trip 3 of 3!!

Hello all and welcome back to my blog, I hope you like the new design and look, I felt that it needed a bit of a tweaking, same reading pleasure just a different look!! As you start this journey with me, I ask for a favor, I thoroughly enjoy writing to my blog, it provides me with a sort of therapy that at times we need while I am overseas, So the favor you ask, I would like to hear your comments, It enables me to see who is following and also helps me for future updates. The comments option is very simple and you don't need to be a member to leave a comment.
So I sit here again in "my chair" one day away from re-deployment to the middle east, and I must say...Not looking forward to it. I suppose there are a lot of reasons for that, but the number one is missing Christmas and that time of the year. I know it's only one Christmas, but I am still a kid at heart when it comes to that and try telling a real kid that they are going to miss Christmas this year. The only consolation with going over this time is that I get to escape the cold and snow for a couple of months, Sorry Lana, but the snowblower is ready to go :(
Today I will spend, whats left of it, packing and relax tonight with the family. Tomorrow do some fine tuning , making sure I have all my stuff in order and head to the airport for 4pm or so. Over the last couple of months there has not been much "activity" in Afghanistan except for the most recent three soldiers that lost their lives in a IED explosion. The most recent death before these three was a Sargeant whom I was at his Repatriation in Kandahar. I hope and pray that there will be no more deaths, but the fact still remains, We are at War. God willing and all the powers that be, this whole thing will be over soon, regardless, this is my last trip for at least a year and If I have any say in it...several years.
So, on that note, again, I do look forward to your comments and look forward to spending the next couple of months with you!!!
Till next time...

Support Our Troops
~M