The talk of most of us centers around the weather; who has the hottest, the coldest, the nicest, the windiest, etc. Obviously, we are all talking about the heat and how it is affecting us. I won't say that we are whining but we are coming really close!
On Andy's first deployment, he talked about the severe conditions in Iraq. Remember, at that time, most of our military did not have quarters let alone running water or air-conditioning. The heat was soaring to the 120+ mark and did not really cool down at night. They all had to wake up multiple times at night in order to hydrate or they would end up sick. The only time they had relief was when the doc would insert an IV for fluids. Andy said that his clothes were so stiff from sweat when he took them off at night, he could stand them up in the corner. Of course there was no way to wash, so the stiff clothes were put back on in the morning!
Andy did not really complain, he was just matter of fact about it.
The second deployment found better living conditions; port a potties and not a hole in the ground! While Pete was in Iraq a month ago, he had it a lot better. He said, "Gee, Mom, we have AC and even ice cream!". He was being funny, trying to get me to not worry about him. :-) I am sure Andy was grinning.
Bearing all this in mind, I am really going to try not to whine about the heat. Stay cool!
"There is nothing to be unhappy about." - Ace Nowacki
This reminds me of a Joshua story… We talked as often possible and I always did my best to never complain or whine to him about anything.
ReplyDeleteThen one morning, it seemed that everything that could possibly annoy to me death happened. Later that day Joshua called (which was always the bright spot of my day) and as we began talking he asked how my day was going? In a moment of weakness I began to blather on about all of those little insignificant things that we make important. He patiently listened until I was finished and said; in the nicest voice “Oh, I am so sorry to hear how your day is going. But Dad, can I ask you a question?” I said “sure” Joshua said “Is it a 130 degrees and are people trying to blow you up?” I laughed and said “good point.”
From that day on, whenever those little annoyances pop up, I think about Joshua’s words and it all seems so small…
Thank you Sheila!!! And, you will never hear me complain about a little heat :)