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Welcome Home- 08/03/11

Like a lot of people out there, I still remember where I was when I found out about the tragedy of 9/11. It was early in the morning, I was in the hallway between classes and my high school principal came on the intercom asking everyone to go into a classroom and announced that the World Trade Center in New York was under attack. Because I was young and naive I actually had to ask what that was. A bunch of us were in the biology lab and one of my old English teachers came in and explained to us all what was going on. She explained that a plane had a flew into the towers and it was believed to be a terrorist attack. Someone asked about flights coming in and out of Canada and, at that moment, all flights were cancelled. This was when I started to panic because my father was on a business trip and I was scared he wouldn't make it back. School was let out early that day and I went home and turned on the news for the first time. I was 16 and had no idea what was happening in the world. I didn't realize then that the events that happened in the United States would inevitably affect the rest of the word and eventually impact my own personal life.

In the 10 years since then, so much has happened and I still feel like that naive 16 year old girl. And the more I sit here and try to come up with a great, informative blog about what Canadians have been doing in Afghanistan, the more I realize I still have a lot to learn. Before I met my husband, I knew we had soldiers over there fighting but I honestly tried not to think about it. I guess I've always tried to believe in the goodness of humanity and the idea of yet another war happening just made me sad. I  heard a line from a song once that said "nothing on the news but the weather" and I guess I've always hoped that someday that would be true.

I have learned a lot over the years, whether I wanted to or not but I don't know as much as I should. I know that our Canadian soldiers have been over there trying to helped the Afghan people, by training their army, rebuilding bridges and schools, and working hard to protect the people there (just to name a few of the many great things they've done). Still, I know they did a lot more and I'm ashamed to admit I didn't want to learn more. Any time my husband deploys, I avoid watching the news. I guess I choose to continue to be naive about it all because it makes life a bit easier to handle. My husband told me that if anything were to happen to him over there that I would be there first to know so I always figured I'd save myself the worry and not pay attention. I know now that it was kind of a cop out and I really should have paid more attention, but I guess I did what I needed to do to keep my sanity throughout this whole process.

This summer marks the end of an era for Canadians in Afghanistan. After 10 years, thousands of men and women deploying,  too many deaths and injuries, our troops are finally coming home. No one but the soldiers can really understand what the experience was like. But we can all continue to give the support they all need. 

To the soldiers: Thank you all so much for the work you did over there to ensure our safety here. You're all brave, strong people who have made your fellow Canadians proud. You're all true heroes.
To my husband: You are the most amazing man I know. I am so proud of you for everything you've done. I love you, with all my heart, and am so happy I get to spend my life with you.
Welcome home!!