Neither Here Nor There
Dec 25, 2012 15:17:11 GMT -6
Post by Moderator on Dec 25, 2012 15:17:11 GMT -6
Neither Here Nor There
Written by Gregg Campbell
December 24, 2012
When you’re “over there” all you can think about is home, what you miss about home, and what you’re going to do when you get home. Holidays over there are spent in the shared misery of others. You hang stockings and open care packages but deep down everyone knows that when you say, “Merry Christmas” you really mean, “Man this place sucks.”
When you’re “back home” all you can think about is the folks still over there, the buddies you spent every waking hour with over there, the heroes who never came home from over there.
The difference between the two places during the holidays is that over there everyone feels the same loneliness and is thinking about the same thing. But back home it seems like nobody else feels what you are feeling and few people know what's on your mind. Over there you find strength in numbers. Back home you can easily feel alone in a room full of family and friends.
The fact is that the holidays will never be the same for a returning vet because for all the happiness that beams from his child’s eyes on Christmas morning there is sorrow in his heart for the families who have lost loved ones to war. For all the time spent with family and friends there is a constant feeling that something is missing because you constantly miss the buddies with whom you were deployed.
I pray for a time when we can bring all of our warriors home, including our POW and MIA. I pray for our brave troops serving in harm’s way tonight and every night. I pray for our Blue and Gold Star families that they might find continued support and strength. And I pray that those with whom I have served understand that I hold our time together in the highest regard and they are never far from my thoughts.
Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men ... Amen.
Written by Gregg Campbell
December 24, 2012
When you’re “over there” all you can think about is home, what you miss about home, and what you’re going to do when you get home. Holidays over there are spent in the shared misery of others. You hang stockings and open care packages but deep down everyone knows that when you say, “Merry Christmas” you really mean, “Man this place sucks.”
When you’re “back home” all you can think about is the folks still over there, the buddies you spent every waking hour with over there, the heroes who never came home from over there.
The difference between the two places during the holidays is that over there everyone feels the same loneliness and is thinking about the same thing. But back home it seems like nobody else feels what you are feeling and few people know what's on your mind. Over there you find strength in numbers. Back home you can easily feel alone in a room full of family and friends.
The fact is that the holidays will never be the same for a returning vet because for all the happiness that beams from his child’s eyes on Christmas morning there is sorrow in his heart for the families who have lost loved ones to war. For all the time spent with family and friends there is a constant feeling that something is missing because you constantly miss the buddies with whom you were deployed.
I pray for a time when we can bring all of our warriors home, including our POW and MIA. I pray for our brave troops serving in harm’s way tonight and every night. I pray for our Blue and Gold Star families that they might find continued support and strength. And I pray that those with whom I have served understand that I hold our time together in the highest regard and they are never far from my thoughts.
Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men ... Amen.