This is my third Veterans Day since I became one myself. It’s really the only day that I feel I deserve a ‘thanks for your service,’ and to be honest, I don’t really feel I deserve a thanks at all. I was in for 4 years, 5 months and 15 days – fourmonths into a two-year extension, my CO felt it necessary to end my obligation on the basis that I couldn’t run without damaging my knee. Three weeks later, I was a Navy dependant, not even obliged to serve out anytime in the Fleet Reserve. I was 5 months pregnant with the twins, my husband was stationed on a ship in San Diego, Sophie and I were at Ft. Meade, and I was still decompressing from the awesome sub conference that I had just attended – why yes, I’m still bitter. Bitter as a rotting lemon, I am.
I can’t go back into the Navy, even if I were so inclined, unless I received a new left knee, got a waiver, oh, and lost about a 100 pounds. The first and last things won’t happen without each other (need a new knee to really exercise, need to lose weight to earn new knee), so I’m pretty much SOL on that front. And yet, I still want to serve my country, specifically, to work where I used to work and continue to fight the good fight from there. I miss the nature of the job itself, the intellectual challenge that it is, the people I worked with – and honestly, I miss being apart of something great. I am a very patriotic person, aided by my own service and that of my husband’s, and I fear I see troubled times ahead for our great nation. I want to help, I want to protect my family and my country again, but the most obvious way (military service) is out. Therefore, I’ve decided to go back into government work, this time as a civilian. This is really important to me, and by putting my intentions on the Internet, it makes it more concrete. It might take a really long time, but damn it, I’m getting back in.
And I feel a huge small load lifting off my chest. Deep breath in, long breath out.
A big thank you goes out to all the vets out there – our nation is all the greater for your service.
Joy said,
November 12, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Good for you Anna. This is great news. What would you like to do? In what part of the government I mean? I think it’s wonderful because I do really think you need it. You seem to be missing part of yourself at times.
I’ve missed you and was very close to emailing you. You’ve been so absent. Condolences on the election. My husband is now laying off employee’s because the big business is scared to spend any money right now which means no new orders for the smaller ones.
Thanks to you and your husband for your dedications to our country.
esthier said,
November 14, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I just wanted to post this here, so you can get to it more easily since you just said you’ll be laying down. I appreciate the appology, but there’s no need. I don’t think ill of you if you don’t respond.
I hope your health improves.