after two days of not hearing from each other, gary was able to call me yesterday. he finally reached iraq, and bought a local sim card to get hold of me. he said they've been moving around a lot, and are leaving their initial FOB to transfer to his final station 30 miles of Kirkuk. i read about this camp online, and well, let's just say it's still not IED-free.
people often ask me how i feel that my husband has the kind of job that he has, and well my answer is you really just don't think about it. well not NOT think about it, but i guess the human mind can condition itself well enough to reduce matters into just one equation: gary and me equals the future, everything else is temporary and is thus surmountable.
so we've been talking and talking last night to make up for lost time. it is INSANE how expensive it is to call iraq from the philippines. i called globe, and smart and sun (which doesn't reach iraq, by the way) to ask for their rates. contrary to what we expected, it's even more expensive if i make the calls compared to him placing them. despite the cost, our communication plan is still for him to text me first then i'll call him, because it's even harder for him to get by a phonecard where he's getting assigned. actually, we're not even sure yet if his new network has coverage in his next stop. the fun never stops! :P
he also went to the internet shop where everybody lines up to get 20 minutes online, and we tried to see each other on webcams. tried, because his cam won't connect to yahoo due to a faulty server. he was able to see me, but i still feel frustrated that i didn't get a glimpse of him even on the computer. as i already mentioned before, gary earns a lot of points for keeping in touch with me no matter what. this is what sustained us for the past years, and even now, he's still doing everything to make this easier for me.
he says he's been eating okay and isn't losing weight, so that's good. he and his troopmates stay together in a tent, on bunk beds. there is nothing at all close to home with his living situation right now. which gets me thinking, the army really has toughen up gary physically, mentally and emotionally.
i remember driving up to california for 24 hours from el paso with him. he of course did all the driving, non-stop. and i mean non-stop.i woke up, and slept, and woke up again in the passenger seat and he was still driving. he didn't stop at all to sleep. the only times he got off the wheel were during rest room breaks! he's also no-nonsense, he'd take whatever you give him (well he's not so easy to please when it comes to the food i cook, but that's another matter...) and he wants everything scheduled and systematic.
there was also this one time we ate at taco bell near our place in el paso from a shopping spree. the mall we came from was really far, and it was raining. so anyway, we ate, and drove home. when we were about to go to the house, i realized i left my bag behind. i just didn't know where. i. had. a. cow! all my important documents were there (okay, okay, 1, don't tell me i was careless, that's more than obvious, and 2, don't ask me anymore why i carry important stuff around, that's just me. end of discussion.) and i was thinking, if i left it at the mall, it'd be impossible to remember where, and even more impossible to get back.
i was in tears, and i would have perfectly understood if gary got upset with me too. but i guess he's been trained with high tension situations, plus of course he really is a nice guy to start with, he just remained calm the whole time. he asked me systematically what was in my bag, and i winced, waiting for his reaction after i gave him an answer. instead of getting mad, he reassured me anything in there, we can apply for again, it's just we needed to get the bag back to protect my identity and also save us all the hassle. he then asked me to recall when it was with me last. everything to me was in a blur, i was scared i'd be delayed with my plans to come home here in the philippines, i was crying, i wasn't even responsive. he just didn't bother me anymore and did his thing. he drove back as fast as possible to taco bell, was gone for a while and was back with my stuff.
gary really takes pride with what he does for a living, and while i will be the first to say that i want him out of active duty, i will also be the first to say that i am really, really, tremendously proud of him and what he's become.
No comments:
Post a Comment