Extended?

Extended? Extended! Extended.

Gosh darn – it strikes again. He’s going on a ship, he probably won’t go into Iraq, MEU deployments are very regular, homecoming dates are very secure, it would take a major, overwhelming circumstance for them to stay longer.

Somehow, despite all this, it’s happened again. My husband is a Marine, which means deployments, especially MEUs, are supposed to be 6-7 months. Last time, also on a MEU he was gone for 10, this time…return date as yet unknown. It was one thing when he was asked to stay longer to battle in Fallujah and to provide security for Iraq’s first set of democratic elections; I was sad for me, but I knew it was important. It’s just a whole lot more frustrating when it’s about politics – he said, she said, I want it my way politics.

The people are saying don’t do it, the legislature is saying don’t do it, for goodness sakes the GENERALS are saying don’t do it, the Iraqi president, who we’re helping, says don’t do it – so…..we’re going to do it? Yes, I read, I’ve heard the comparisons – Lincoln did the unpopular thing, Churchill did the unpopular thing – and I hope history proves me wrong, I do, but somehow I don’t see this temporary hail-Mary surge being the stoic, unpopular, but right thing.

I’m quite sure that I would be willing to say, “sure, one last hurrah, give it a last push – sucks for those 7,000 – 30,000 troops who’s plans are interrupted – but it might just be worth it” (don’t forget about the rest of us, the families that are affected by it too folks). But, since it’s me, my life, my sister’s wedding he’ll now be missing, my summer I’ll now spend with out my husband, my plans put on hold, I can’t quite get there. Selfish? I’m quite sure. But when will it be over? When will it not be my turn anymore? I wish I’d known him way back when, I think I might have tried to tell him to take out student loans for that un-godly private school tuition instead.

Either way – I wish I just knew for sure. Perhaps by next week and, maybe, the certainty of at least knowing will provide me with some solace.