As a fellow veteran I just wanted to take a
moment and thank all my brothers and sisters for all the hard work. With the
long hot motor pool days, shenanigans, boring hurry up and wait days, the
monotony, the politics, and the high school drama that many of you hear about,
I feel obligated to remind you all, who may not have gone this path, of the
stress of being pushed into unfamiliar settings, being isolated from any and
all family right out of high school, training for weeks or months on end in the
field with little sleep, portable showers twice a week if your
lucky/MRE's/water buffalos because there is no running water where you had to
set up your tents, not knowing how to integrate back to society and learn a
completely new language, code of ethics, and lifestyle from people who care
more about a selfie than respecting their parents, while we still get harassed
for saying "sir" or "ma'am" out of respect, and dont forget
the occasional deployments. Please, again, please, no matter what your
political or personal beliefs about the military, or any individual mess-ups
you may have met along the way, please do not assume you know what any other
veteran is going through just because of stories you've heard or a person you
may know. I have lost way more of my battle buddies in the years following the
deployment from suicide, than those killed in action. So many veterans feel
like they do not belong, have no support, suffer from survivors guilt, or even
just feel a sense of uselessness for not being able to do the job they were
trained to do for so many years, either because of getting out voluntarily, or
being medically discharged, which adds an extra layer of guilt, because now, at
somewhere in their 20's, they can no longer do the job most 50 year olds are
still doing without breaking a sweat. For so many years, I was lost in this
pain. I know now, that it was only due to my own insecurities, but I will tell
you, it would have been alot harder had I not had the support of family,
friends and even strangers along the way. But just because I faked a smile for
so many years, doesn't mean that I wasn't hurting just as much as those who
can't even build up the courage to fake a smile as you pass them on the street
or work with them, or go to school with them. Please do not assume that you
know anyone's story. All I ask, is don't be rude, don't be mean, don't judge.
Just be as accepting to veterans as you are to the people you meet at church.
We are all humans first, and our greatest goal of this life is to love one
another. I am grateful and proud for another God-given day being numbered among
the few.
The Seed of Hope Marie Slider 10 April 2019 A seed of hope was given, by one who came before; I put it in my chest, to see if it could bore. The roots began to dig so deep, they wrapped around my heart; Planting themself firmly, so they could never part. That hope grew strong as tree trunks, reaching to the sky, Forever part of me, I'll have it when I die. That seed of hope was planted, somewhere in my past, And forever I will show the world, the way this hope can last. Sometimes my hope it hibernates, and it seems pretty bare. However I still feel it then, and remember I must share. My seed it must be watered first, but what can feed that hope? I cannot rely fully, on just the need to cope. The want to share is great and all, for now work must be done. For if I don't protect the growth, it could be overrun. I must gain understanding, of how hope can be changed, To faith where there's no room for doubt, that things have been arranged. My heart it must b...
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