Message from Soldier Tom

I just glanced at Airman Mom's pre-blog writing on my Dashboard and she writes about the sand storms in Iraq. Tom didn't mention that. This is a photo of a sandstorm rolling in on one of the bases in Iraq. There are photos listed on my blog how it is one of of the sandy days with Tom and his troops. He wrote not long ago that he and a buddy were going on a run but it was really dusty (sandy) and he didn't know how far they would get. They do have a gym with equipment but I know Tom enjoys running with his buddies.

I was so glad to receive an email message from Tom this morning. I usually catching him IMing on Yahoo although our online timing has been off. I can see that he's been on Yahoo, but its been over a week since we've connected. I know he's very busy and they are getting ready to leave, but it's been too long between contacts. So, I sent him a short note with a photo. I'm not sure if it was my note or photo that prompted him to write, but he wrote and I am always, always, so relieved to hear from him. He said their internet hasn't been working well lately. They are getting ready to leave but now are going through all sorts of briefings before they leave Taji. They will have to spend a week or so at Camp Liberty, Baghdad, before heading back to Ft. Bragg.

I told Tom I had made a Facebook page and met up with a couple of old friends - old being the operative word, since we are all old now. He was impressed but gave a couple of "ha-ha's" and said "my grandma is so modern" oh that's classic! I'll now enjoy being thought of as a "modern grandma!"

I am thankful the military is making it mandatory to talk to the soldiers about "post-deployment stress." As we are aware there are a lot of soldiers who find the change from the being involved with the war back to the everyday life of a everyday citizen very agonizing and traumatic. We don't do enough for our soldiers and their families.

Tom is ready and anxious to get back home stateside. And, I can't wait to see him. Gads, I wish we could see him get off the plane at Ft. Bragg. We'll have to wait and see him when he lands in Las Vegas in May or June.