9/11/2009

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today is huge…. huge because of so many reasons.   It is huge because we are a day closer to being together.  It is huge because we live and breathe… it is huge because so many have suffered and yet we persevere!   I was going to tell you that since the pediatrician, I have developed a cold.   Nana has a cold too.  Aunt Arri, Aunt Alyx, Uncle Nick and Poppy are getting colds – but then we all realized it is ‘9-11’.   It is my Aunt Arrianna’s birthday.   She is 18 today.  Nana says, there were days where she did not know if she would see Aunt Arrianna grow to be 18, there were times when she was sick that she would just hope and pray for being able to see all the kids graduate, or go to college.  She is very lucky and very happy about being able to see all of it, but now…being a bit selfish… she says she wants to see me grow, and all the other campers have spouses and kids should they choose… she says it is all part of life- we all just want more.   Nana is old, and sometimes complains about feeling sick… today she is reminded about how really lucky she is… (I help do that, little spirit stick that I am!)

9/11…. reminds Nana and the campers of the historical moment eight years ago- when so many lives were changed.  Tragedy – awful and painful…and yet from it – new and different lives emerged.   So many service men and women enlisted after 9/11.  So many men and women met through the army like you and dad… and then little lives like mine have come to be.   There are no words that can ease pain from loss, but thinking about the slightest good, or looking at the world through the ‘rose’ colored glasses that Poppy always seems to ‘wear’… well, it helps ease the magnitude of it all a bit. 

Someone sent Nana an email the other day, it made her think about how PERSPECTIVE is everything.  The e-mail depicts a soldier… in several situations…. unable to locate source, and specific permissions, I hope I am not in anyway offending the photographer, or author.   It is slightly edited.  Since it was sent REQUESTING THAT IT BE CIRCULATED … I have done so by posting portions of the photography on my site.  The sentence below was copied and pasted onto the site as to verificaiton of the authors desire for it to be seen.  Thank you unknown author for a reality check for Nana and the campers… and note to self… I CAN HARDLY WAIT UNTIL MY SOLDIERS COME HOME… HAPPY AND HEALTHY… AND READY TO BEGIN OUR LIVES TOGETHER… I am sharing these photos on my page because I am proud to be the daughter of two United States soldiers, and Nana  – she is very sorry for complaining about being tired… we are all fine!  We just want you home.  

WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME 
 (This email is being circulated around the world – please keep it going)

 
When a soldier comes home, he -or she- finds it hard…. 
 
..to listen to his son whine about being bored. 
 
….to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes. 
 
to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work. 
 
…to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night’s sleep.
 
..to be silent when people pray to God for a new car. 

..to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying. 

….to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather..  

….to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.   

….to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog and to be civil to people who complain about their job. 

How to be forgiving when someone say’s how hard it is to have a new baby in the house. 

Maybe the only thing harder than being a soldier….

Is loving one.  

 Knowing what is endured, what is sacrificed is more than a human heart can sometimes bear.   My love letter tonight is not to take sides, to boast a political opinion, for Nana says, to each his own.   It is to remind you we may not be living your life, nor be able to relate to your heart aches, but we are here, we are your family, we are always with you… and you with us.  Never forget Poppy… his rose colored glasses, or the love a parent has for their child.  Nana for you and all her children as you have for me! It is that love that gets us through the hardest of days, the longest of nights, and helps us to reach our shining and brightest moments. 

I hope whom ever wanted these photos seen, will appreciate that they have been posted on my site, Nana is not elequent or smart enough to have expressed herself without the help of these photos.  So again thanks to all the service men and women… for doing jobs that are not glamorous, often criticized, that take a toll beyond measure, and ensure a freedom most Americans take for granted from time to time.   I love my mom and my dad.   I know that they had no idea how hard this would be! 

Nana and Poppy are trying with all of the campers to make sure your precious little princess is loved.  I wait, and soon we will be re-united and the world may not be perfect, and problems and chaos may exist, but for us we will begin a journey that truly is the most amazing and fulfilling you will ever dream of.   All you have seen  –  and all you have done –  will  pale in comparison to us being together again.

I know that you are making good- on promises you made, and are committed to being the best people that can possibly be in circumstances that are far from the best.

ALL OF US want to see you home safe and soon mom and dad!

I am doing fine mom and dad, a small cold, it’s not a problem.  Nana is fine too… no worries there.   Aunt Arri, doesn’t mind having a cold either, she will most likely get CAKE.   We all have it in perspective.   We all love you very much.   We all remember the unity of a country brought about by events eight years ago, and so many huge events in the many years before that – that shape us    and also by way of Poppy, and his rose colored vision… we find a way to rise out of the chaos, and pain of our past… to a new beginning.   KEEP YOUR EYE ON ‘THE PRIZE’ MOM AND DAD…

Look at my face…. I am waiting … right here… safe….. happy and loved beyond measure… for the return of my Soldier Mom and my Soldier Dad.  As always, your Little Miss Adorable, your daughter, aka ‘THE PRIZE’

Guillianna!  (Photo above was taken last week but you had not seen it (there are soooo  many of me!)  Nana will upload one from today as soon as possible!  Love  Ya- xoxoxoxo )