Shortly before I departed for Kandahar, my friend Lindsey
gave me a bracelet that says, “LIVE THE LIFE YOU IMAGINE.”
Well I never could have imagined this!
I’ve ridden in a MRAP through an obstacle course.
I’ve taken a tour of an A-10.
I’ve flown in the cockpit of a C-130 three times.
I’ve flown in a Black Hawk to COPs and FOBs in Kandahar
province.
I’ve taken a tour of a medical rescue helicopter and watched
the ParaRescue Jumpers respond to a call.
I’ve spent a night in the control tower watching all the
flights land and take off.
I’ve tried on an EOD suit.
I’ve played with military bomb sniffing and attack dogs.
I’ve heard the eerie whistle as a rocket flies overhead
moments before impact.
I’ve felt the earth quake under my feet as an incoming
rocket has exploded.
I’ve shared a room with 4 other grown women.
I’ve shared a bathroom with 35 of them.
I’ve eaten goat in Africa and a baby squid in Greece. Eww!
I’ve visited 5 continents.
I’ve snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef.
I’ve seen the Caribbean, Uganda, Germany, Ireland,
Australia, Greece and Italy.
I’ve made life long friends, and met others I’d rather
forget.
I’ve been yelled at by a Sergeant Major, praised by a
Lieutenant Colonel, and laughed at by a Brigadier General.
I’ve watched ACUs turn to Multi-Cam.
I’ve seen 3/2 SCR change to Lightning Strawberries and then
into the giant Indian patch guys.
I’ve learned greetings in Dari, Pashto, Romanian, Bulgarian,
and Slovakian.
I’ve seen an entire unit deploy to Afghanistan TWICE! – the
Route Clearance Seahorses.
I’ve ran a marathon.
I’ve felt the pain of loss.
I’ve seen the joy of a proud father at his child’s birth.
I’ve held grown men as they cry.
I’ve rejoiced with grown men as they cheer.
I’ve witnessed a soldier be awarded a Purple Heart while in
the hospital.
I’ve seen a soldier wince in pain at the shrapnel still in
his side.
I’ve seen a soldier draped in a flag for his final flight
home.
I’ve felt deeper sadness and joy than I had ever known
possible.
I truly lived.
I gave 20 months to the brave men and women who give us
their careers, family, and sometimes even their lives. I thought it would be a great
sacrifice, but instead it’s been a great adventure.
To every family member, friend, and OLP parishioner, thank
you for your undying support that gave me the strength to support our troops.
And to every USO staffer, USO volunteer, SF, MARSOC, SEAL,
PJ, Coast Guardsman, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Soldier, thank you for sharing
your experience with me.
To my coworkers who became friends, and to those friends who
became my desert family, I could not have made it through without you. You were my rock, my sanity, and my
overwhelming joy.
My sister Gretchen wrote me an e-mail recently in which she
said, “Trust me, it all works out if you have the courage to let go.”
As a college recruiter I’ve heard countless mothers talk
about the strength it takes to let go of their babies and not feel the guilt of
abandonment as they trust they’ll be okay without them. I feel the same way about our troops.
I know I have made a difference in others’ lives just as
they have touched mine, and in that way a piece of me will always be in
Afghanistan.
So here’s to a new adventure!
New change, can’t wait! – Daren Hidalgo in his final letter
to me.
