It's been 8 years since September 11, 2001. Over 4300 US Soldiers have lost their lives since the War on Terrorism began, and over 35,000 have been wounded. This morning, September 11, 2009 marks the day of my count down for Sean to return home. He left us for Iraq for his second tour of duty there this afternoon. All in All, it's been a Horrible day, but at least the sun was shining and this is the view from our home of Mt. Rainier.
A picture of the 3 of us
And just us two
My Dad, Sue, and I came along for the very long process this morning of dropping Sean off at the bus on Post. This is his huge duffel bag. Can you imagine packing everything you need in one duffel bag & a back pack for an entire year?
I even helped
Just two of the piles of duffel bags. 400 plus soldiers left today from Fort Lewis. Sean's unit is one of the last to deploy this year from here, hundreds & hundreds have already left.
Sean putting his flashlight on his weapon
Leaving his formation, getting ready to go. So many families standing by. Children playing, wives talking, and the tears were flowing! It's never easy to say good bye & a year seems like an eternity as you stand there waiting & waiting for them to go. Your mind fills full of "what if's" & you process every birthday, holiday, anniversary, evenings that will be missed.
A buddy of Sean's, Josh came out to say good bye. Josh is a great guy and made light of the situation a bit and him and Sean talked GI Joe talk for a long time.
Here they go, loading in the buses!
A group of Bikers came out to escort the first load of Buses to the Plane. So, as I said, it was a horrible day!!!! It was so difficult to say good bye. My Dad & Sue flew out from CA to be with me and I didn't completely loose it when Sean boarded the bus. I shed a few tears and was trying my very best to be "tough"! When we got back home this afternoon, I went to my bedroom, shut and locked the door, laid on Sean's side of the bed and balled my eyes out!! Oh how I pray that the year will pass quickly! I love you & Cherish every ounce of your being Sean. We will be here waiting for you to come Home!!
It's been 8 years since September 11, 2001. Over 4300 US Soldiers have lost their lives since the War on Terrorism began, and over 35,000 have been wounded. This morning, September 11, 2009 marks the day of my count down for Sean to return home. He left us for Iraq for his second tour of duty there this afternoon. All in All, it's been a Horrible day, but at least the sun was shining and this is the view from our home of Mt. Rainier.
A picture of the 3 of us
And just us two
My Dad, Sue, and I came along for the very long process this morning of dropping Sean off at the bus on Post. This is his huge duffel bag. Can you imagine packing everything you need in one duffel bag & a back pack for an entire year?
I even helped
Just two of the piles of duffel bags. 400 plus soldiers left today from Fort Lewis. Sean's unit is one of the last to deploy this year from here, hundreds & hundreds have already left.
Sean putting his flashlight on his weapon
Leaving his formation, getting ready to go. So many families standing by. Children playing, wives talking, and the tears were flowing! It's never easy to say good bye & a year seems like an eternity as you stand there waiting & waiting for them to go. Your mind fills full of "what if's" & you process every birthday, holiday, anniversary, evenings that will be missed.
A buddy of Sean's, Josh came out to say good bye. Josh is a great guy and made light of the situation a bit and him and Sean talked GI Joe talk for a long time.
Here they go, loading in the buses!
A group of Bikers came out to escort the first load of Buses to the Plane. So, as I said, it was a horrible day!!!! It was so difficult to say good bye. My Dad & Sue flew out from CA to be with me and I didn't completely loose it when Sean boarded the bus. I shed a few tears and was trying my very best to be "tough"! When we got back home this afternoon, I went to my bedroom, shut and locked the door, laid on Sean's side of the bed and balled my eyes out!! Oh how I pray that the year will pass quickly! I love you & Cherish every ounce of your being Sean. We will be here waiting for you to come Home!!
Oh dear sweet Katie.......I have been thinking of you ALL day today. Oh my goodness, I can't even begin to imagine how hard this is for you. I wish you didn't live so far away. Sean will be in all of our prayers. And so will you. We love you.
ReplyDeleteKristy
Oh Katie,
ReplyDeleteI can't even imagine what this must be like. I will keep you and Sean in my prayers until he returns. I will pray for his safety, and for you to have the strength and courage you will need. I wish there was something I could do. I can't stop thinking about you. I hope that it has been some comfort having your Dad and Sue there with you today.
Love you and am sending you GOOD GOOD thoughts and energy,
Genn
Thanks Genn & Kristy! It's times like these that I wish I weren't so far away either! It would be nice to be surrounded by family.
ReplyDeleteHi Katie, I'm Kelly, a friend of Genny's. While getting my hair done on Saturday she was telling me how your husband was just deployed and how the pictures on your blog made her cry. Wow! I can't even imagiane. I've never know anyone who has gone to fight in the war or lost their lives in this war. You ARE one tough woman and your husband seems amazing, as well as all those others that were deployed that day.
ReplyDeleteHang in there and know how many are thinking of you!