Deployment Positive Thursday- Weeks 25 & 26

So we meet again. Things have been slightly busy around here the past two weeks to say the lest. Between a Trans-Atlantic vacation, getting caught up at work, and trying to get back into my routine, some things (eh hem, my blog) have seemed to fallen by the wayside. As we begin to gear up for the second half of this deployment (YUP, this is really happening!) I find myself getting more and more excited for the fall! The poor kids must be so sick of me asking them how excited they are to start school up again, but what's a girl to do? I've got to have things to look forward to.

Maybe it's foolish, but as we hit the 6 month mark, I keep having to remind myself that it's not over yet. I guess this is the beauty of having midtour leave late in a deployment. Not only that, but I have been planning lots of smaller milestone trips as well with friends and family. Plus with the Holidays seemingly right after midtour is over, it'll be 2012 before we know it. And I couldn't be happier.

I also wanted to share some of my favorite pictures from my visit to Germany. We crammed a lot of fun (and food and beer) into 5 short days, but it was great to see family again. These are mostly in random order, but I tried to just pick my favorites. Hope you enjoy:



Cemeteries in Europe are a lot different than in the states. There is something so beautiful about families owning a plot and taking care of their loved ones and making it their own.




My Omama and Opapa Hilsbos & Opa Jakob





Creative "Tombstone"... this was one of my favorites.





The house my mom grew up in just outside Dusseldorf




My "single" hotel room. 




Gut Hahn for lunch





At Gut Hahn with my Oma and Dad




Ein Pills, Bitte




Empty Beer





My favorite meal; Filet mit Pfefferlinger und Rosti







German Countryside




Kaffee und kuchen





My Oma and Opa on their wedding day in December 1943




A rainbow on our last afternoon




And a beautiful sunset walking back to the hotel



Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 24

Well, I think it is safe to say that the summer has been a busy time for me- and honestly, I couldn't be happier about it! Just looking at my blogging, or lack there of, it's easy to see that I haven't had a spare moment the last few weeks. (I'll admit though, that my scarce blogging habits can also be blamed on the fact that we just don't have all that much to report- it's still hot and sandy in Afghanistan, and I'm still not-so-patiently waiting for R&R.) To make up for my lack of posts recently, I'm blogging everything that's been floating around my mind lately in one mammoth post. So today's DPT is a BOGO, if you will.

To start, I have to admit, I am loving that I am able to honestly say we are about halfway done at this point. It's so funny because the last 5 1/2 months have been such a blur, but also have seemed to drag on at the same time. Now with the promise of midtour leave seemingly right around the corner (obviously still a huge exaggeration at this point: we still have over three months until October even starts), I feel like we are finally making some real headway.

Sometimes it is hard to imagine that 2012 will ever actually get here, but yesterday for the first time ever, I saw a commercial for a line of 2012 Chevy cars and trucks! Hearing the word 2012 mentioned in a commercial for a product that is actually available to the general public RIGHT NOW was an amazing feeling; it's hard to explain, but it makes everything real. It's like when you are a kid and all you want is for Santa to come, but it's only December 1st and you still have 24 whole entire days to wait. You never think you'll actually get to Christmas Morning (at least, I never did when we started our Advent Calendars), but as more and more families begin to put up their Christmas Trees and decorations, you realize that soon Santa will come. That Chevy commercial made me realize that this deployment will eventually come to an end, that this lonely feeling will not always be my reality, even though sometimes it doesn't feel like it.

As June comes to a close, it feels like ages ago that we were in Disney. But today is a day to celebrate, not only because it is the last day of another month that we can forever bid farewell, but because of two very exciting events that happened in the Dolan household today. The first: Mom finally got her voice back after being told by an ENT not to talk at all for the past six weeks (we cheated a little at Disney, but who wouldn't) due to swollen vocal chords. And the second: Dad's big 60th birthday! We had the whole family over tonight for dinner and dessert by the pool and it was just a perfect evening. A great way to close out a pretty bum month!

And, with the start of July, brings another trip for me! Tomorrow I leave for 6 days in Germany visiting with family and friends. We grew up visiting my grandparents every summer, and as Mark and I grew older it got harder and harder to find time for all of us to go. I haven't seen my Oma in three long years (since I took a weekend trip to visit her while I was studying in Florence in '08) so I am definitely ready to wrap my arms around her. Mom Dolan helped my pack tonight (have I mentioned I hate packing? Literally I did dishes for as long as humanly possible tonight just to avoid it, then stomped around the house groaning about how much I was dreading the task ahead of me for almost a solid hour) but miraculously I fit everything into a single carry on suitcase! I'm pretty darn proud of myself.

I told Andrew that after post-deployment block leave and our Honeymoon, Germany is a vacation priority. It kills me that it is such a huge part of my life (and family) that he doesn't know. I dream of the day when my grandmother can finally meet him. Since my grandfather was in the military during WWII, she knows what it is like to have the love of her life away fighting a war, and she often tells me what a tough journey it is. She finds it so hard to fathom that Andrew and I are able to communicate so often and quickly. In her day, it took weeks and weeks (sometimes months) to get letters to one another, and she and my Opa wrote every.single.day. That is what I call love, and I think it is an excellent example they set for us.

Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 7

I'll be honest, this week was a tough one. I struggled for a long time trying to think of something positive to write about that didn't seem shallow or petty. This week the realities of deployment really hit, and the fact that Andrew is away at war really sunk in.

On Sunday, Andrew's unit suffered their first casualty. Part of Andrew's job as a liaison officer (for these first few months) is to assist with medevacs (medical evacuations) when those wounded and killed in action need to be airlifted to another facility with better medical facilities.

Sgt. Kristopher J. Gould was on his third tour of duty in the middle east and was only 25 years old. His official cause of death has been listed as wounds sustained from an insurgent attack using an IED. Andrew was one of the soldiers who escorted his body onto the plane which was taking him home. He was flown home for a memorial service at Fort Knox tomorrow, followed by a funeral in his hometown. Andrew did not know him personally. To learn more about this fallen hero, click here.

The shock of the first casualty of this deployment hadn't yet worn off yesterday morning when I learned of the tragedy in Germany. A unit of Airmen had just left from their base in England earlier that day for their year-long deployment to Afghanistan. They were at their first stop at Frankfurt Airport in Germany when a gunman boarded the bus they were on and shot the driver and several airmen, wounding many and killing two. As the information came out yesterday, all I could think about were the families of those men on that bus. They had just seen their loved ones that morning, I couldn't shake that from my mind. All I kept thinking back on was Day 1 of this deployment (for me) and what a wreck I was. The emotions of that "see ya later" were overwhelming, but I kept finding solace in the fact that Andrew would be safe for the next week or so, as he was just in transit. Those poor wives and families. I truly cannot imagine the pain and anguish they must have gone through yesterday, adding to the already emotional morning they had.

In news reports (and from some friends who I know were affected personally by this) I have heard that those who were on the bus set to deploy will be returning to their base in England to their families while the investigation is on-going. So there is a small light of happiness!

Please pray for the families of Sgt. Gould and those killed and wounded in Germany yesterday.

I know this is really not what anybody was expecting to read on "Positive Thursday", but after deliberating all day about what to post, I decided that we are at war. And these are, sadly, the realities of war. There is not sugar-coating or glossing over the unpleasantries. This is certainly the worst part of Military life.

But I am thankful for people like Sgt. Gould and all of our soldiers serving overseas or waiting for their chance to deploy. The sacrifices they are willing to make keep us safe. Because of these men and women who volunteer to do this, we aren't fighting this war on our own streets, or constantly living in fear of the next 9/11.

While I really don't want to dwell on this, the reality is that we are at war and I think it is important to be aware of the facts and keep everyone involved in your prayers.

Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 2

As another Thursday rolls around, its time for another weekly positive! I have found in the past few days that I have been spending a lot of time (when driving, or trying to sleep, etc.) thinking about what my positive will be for this week! I think it is a good thing to be always thinking about the positives, rather than dwelling on the negatives.. Shannon told me once that studies show that that generally leads to happier people!

Even though this week's positive I knew a long time ago, I also have a few more to add.

First and definitely most important: Our favorite show, Archer, had it's second season premier tonight. We have been looking forward to this for close to a year and even though I haven't watched it yet- not to worry, its on the DVR- I am absolutely giddy with excitement. Some of the fondest memories of my visits down to Knox and Benning were when Andrew and his friends would just quote Archer episodes over and over again. I'd be lucky to insert one or two lines before they would all finish the quotes for me. It was sure to put me in stitches every time.

Second: I got the contracts for the Hotel Hershey today! It needs some adjustments, but as long as we get it back to them signed, sealed and delivered by February 14th, that baby is ours!

Third: Shannon called me today and said that she was doing a lot of thinking today after being able to communicate with Andrew last night. She made me realize how lucky we are to have instant communication even though we are thousands of miles away from Andrew. I will admit, I have done my fair share of complaining about missing Andrew by a few minutes or only getting to say a few things to him each night, but when you think about it that way, we've been spoiled rotten! I would never trade places with a military family from a previous war and have to wait weeks or even months for a single letter... heck, we all know how crazy that made me after only 15 weeks of Ranger School this summer. And that was with a phone call every few weeks, as well as a 3 week period with phone calls almost every night.

I also thought a lot about my maternal grandparents. (Background: My mother's entire family is German, she was born and raised there, just like all the previous generations of her ancestors. She came to the US for a temporary job in her late twenties, met my dad and after a few years of dating and her moving back and forth from there to here, they got married, had us kids and the rest is history) My grandfather was a Luftwaffe pilot in the Second World War. He flew over 1,000 combat missions and was one of the most decorated German pilots of his time. I have a lot of pride in what he did for his country, but also know that the people who were leading that country were very bad people and did a lot of bad things, which leads to me having a lot of mixed emotions on the subject. But, as Andrew always tells people- he fought mainly on the Eastern Front, so he was just ahead of his time-- he wasn't bombing any Americans, so we should really be thanking him.

My grandparents were engaged in November of 1944 and 13 days later they were married. He had two days leave and then it was back to war. Just before the war ended he was actually captured by the Allied Forces and held as a Prisoner of War. When the war ended, because he was so honored- by friend and foe, alike- he was released. (I have been told they later killed all of the POWs where he was held, but I really don't know the validity of that story.) He walked (and I'm guessing somehow caught rides with people) back to Germany to his wife, who for 6 weeks had no idea if he had survived. She often tells me how hard it was in those days and how she would wait weeks for a letter. Their story is heart-wrenching and I ache for her, because I can only imagine the pain she must have gone through in those weeks, and throughout that entire war.

So the next time I go a day or two without talking to my soldier, you can bet I will be counting my blessings that we live in an era of instant communication and lots of planes bringing letters and care packages galore to and from Afghanistan almost every day!