Been Away

August 31, 2007 By Troy
Posted in Life in the Military

I know it has been a while since I have posted here on the VAMC blog, but I have a good reason. I was out on my last vacation of the year and my last decompression time before heading back into the workforce 100%. Since I have been back from Afghanistan I made it a point to take as much time off as possible (just short of the 90 days allotted by law) and enjoy my time with my family. Back in June, my wife and I had a weekend away in Washington, D.C. to attend the Army Birthday Ball. Then at the end of June and into July we drove to Arkansas to see my parents and visit other family and attend a mini-20 year reunion. So the last vacation which was planned took place over the last 2 weeks.

We flew to Florida to visit my wife’s parents and other family down there. This trip had a dual purpose in that I took my wife on a cruise while we were there. I purchased it last year while I was still in Afghanistan for our Anniversary. Since I was not really sure on when I would be home I booked it for August, thinking that I would definitely be home by then. The cruise was as magnificent as we thought it would be. It was our 2nd cruise of which both have been on Royal Caribbean. We are really happy with them and I don’t think we will cruise any other cruise line. We have talked to many people that have been on other cruise lines and they have told us that RC is the best one and they would never go back to the others.

This cruise was special in the fact that it was a good bonding time for my wife and I, it was a anniversary gift and it became even more special during the cruise. It became more special because during those 5 days I had no thoughts, dreams or recollections of my time in Afghanistan. This cruise marked the first time that I truly never thought about that place or what I went through. A day has not passed since I have returned that Afghanistan was not on my mind. I either see something about it, something I see/hear/smell reminds me of it, or my thoughts during the day just drift towards it. Even when the people sitting with us at dinner asked me about it, my answers were short, vague and then we moved on. The first dinner when I was asked “what it was like” what the only time it was brought up but I paid it no mind and forgot all about it once I gave my answer. For me personally this was a major accomplishment and something that I am glad happened. It was not until the last night there as my wife and I were standing out on the deck underneath the moon that I came to realize the last several days were Afghan-free.

I am not sure what the real reason was of not having thoughts, dreams, or whatever but I am glad it happened. I wasn’t off the cruise just a couple of days before the dreams kicked in again. So I guess I will either keep having them or maybe I need to schedule another cruise sooner than later.

**NOTE, Troy is a 1SG in the New York Army National Guard and writes several blogs on his website at http://www.bouhammer.com**

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