Iraq Bound

I love a party, most of the time, but this past weekend included a party/cookout that still produces tears.

My youngest son, Patrick, leaves for Iraq this coming weekend. I used to could say it without tearing up, now I can't even type it without the tears streaming down my face.

We had a great gathering of about 35 family and friends at my parents home yesterday afternoon. Most of the guests were family but there were several of Patrick's friends from high school there as well. It was fun to watch them interact with each other and enjoy talking about the times they have had in the past. They talked like it had been years when in fact, it had only been a few weeks for some and only a couple of years for others.

My dad called the group to order and welcomed everyone for coming to Patrick's going away dinner and turned the "program" over to Patrick's girl friend who presented him with a nice computer to take to Iraq with him. Her parents, my parents, David and I and she had decided that would be as good a gift as we could get him so he could carry a little bit of home with him.

After he opened his gift, he told Amanda he had something for her, too. He told her that the next 7 months were going to be hard and that he was glad she would be here waiting for him when he returned. He told her he wanted her to have something to remember him by and he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Everyone there knew he was going to do it except her and we enjoyed watching her reaction and of course the two moms cried even though we had known it for weeks.

As the afternoon turned in to evening, the crowd divided up into various groups, mostly older and younger. But, I found myself having far too much fun with the younger crowd to sit with the older ones.

I wanted to be close to Patrick.

Everyone left and we sat up for a little while watching basketball and then retreated to bed. The next morning after the tables and chairs got returned and the breakfast dishes were finished, my mom, Patrick, his girlfriend, oops..... I mean fiance, and I watched some home videos of him and Daniel when they were little bitty things. Patrick was 2. I laughed and cried at the same time. Where has the time gone? What happened to that little boy squealing with excitement at Christmas, "Woooook what I dat!"

I hugged my son this afternoon, told him I loved him and I cried all the way home and have leaked most of the day. I will be in Jacksonville during the window of time he is to leave which will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday of next week. I will get to spend time with him but when he gets the call, he will leave for 7 months.

Please remember him and his unit and all our military persons in harms way. I know God will be watching over him but the thoughts of him being there is not comforting at all.