Supporting Our Troops

In my heart lays a desire to reach out and show my support in any way I can for our military, past, present and future. Those that have seen war and those that haven't. Putting on that uniform and being ready, willing and able to lose your life for a country where so many don't see, understand or appreciate the sacrifice, is the most honorable act in my mind. I don't know how to do this well enough to feel proud that I have done my all for them.

I run a Myspace site where I have met and emailed so many people, but don't have the means to be on their as often as I'd like to keep up with my "Internet friends". It's been up and running for over a year now. Without a computer at home I just can't keep up with it like I use to but I do my best and they understand.

I am currently awaiting my information on a soldier that I have adopted through, Adopt A Platoon. Yet another way I can feel I'm "doing my part". To know me IRL is to know that I have a great big heart and if I can make even one person's life just a little lighter or to bring even one smile to someones face makes me happier than ever. I hope I can eventually "adopt" more than one soldier because I feel it's an honorable thing to do.

I've heard stories of war and seen pictures and videos of men that have been there. Watched the horror of soldiers with PTSD and TBI and tried and failed to help them make sense of it all. I watched a unit from beginning to end of one tour in Iraq. Watched through a screen as boys became men and then returned home lost and damaged mentally but physically whole from the things they lived through. The ones that came back amputees and physically disabled seem to be the ones adjusting better to life here than the ones living with the nightmares and how to turn it off. Is this because our country has to pay attention to them because of visible injuries? All of this makes me want to do more.

So here's my goal and my way of doing what I can for myself, my country, my family and all these men and women. I wish I would have done something a lot earlier in life. I realized a few months ago that I am not to old to join the military. I'm just to fat and out of shape. So I went to a local gym talked to a trainer and signed up. After speaking to a few recruiters (each branch) I now work with guidelines to reach my weight and fitness goals. I've given myself one year (because I have a lot to lose) and as long as I stay on track I will reach that goal. I've decided I want to join the Army National Guard. Yes this means time away from my kids and that is the toughest part of this decision.

I went through a period where I really thought this was selfish of me to do to them. After research and losing my first 20 pounds and 10 inches, I realized this is what's best for us all. There's no way around this decision and all of my family and friends I shared this with so far have been extremely supportive and that has shocked me. Ultimately I want to come out of this with true experience of being a soldier and a degree in Psychology, specializing in addictions and PTSD. Someone once told me that no one would listen to me because I didn't have a degree, though I knew what I was talking about. The way I see it: if I have that degree AND the life experience, than I can help our soldiers and do my part. I can do what this country lacks in doing when these men and women come home!