home for the holidays

I must still be jet lagged.  Rolling out of bed at six o'clock when your body thinks that it's eight o'clock is not much fun.

Wolf, Tink and I flew to Colorado for the holidays.  That was Wolf's big Christmas present: plane tickets home.  And, home we are, despite cancelled flights, flying on standby, lost luggage and a very long car ride from the airport.  I don't think I've ever used the phrase "thank you so much" as many times as I did in a twenty-four hour period -- for everything from putting us on standby, getting us on a flight, switching seats, getting us a hotel room, and assisting us with our wayward bag.  Much better than being rude with airport personnel who are already overburdened with the mess of displaced people who are everywhere but where they should be.

But, all is well.  We're here, and everyone important is happy to have us here.  I might not be at my home for the holidays, there might be tons of family drama and people to meet, but this is definitely much better than spending it in the sandbox.

Thanksgiving

Home again. This time it was for a second Thanksgiving meal. I didn't think I would come, especially without Wolf with me. But, I got on the train all by myself. No husband, no friend, no dog. And I did just fine.

On our way to the train station, Wolf asked me what I was thankful for. Honestly, I didn't give him much of an answer because I really didn't want to talk about it. Yes, I know how strange (or stupid) that sounds.

Here's the list:

• Wolf, for sticking around through the bad days and dragging me out to do the things I really don't want to do.
• My parents, for patiently dealing with relatives that just don't get it.
• My friends, for dragging me back into socializing, be it through outings, phone calls, or emails.
• My guild, for being so understanding and easy to talk to.
• My dogs, for being my constant daytime companions -- not to mention the cuddles, kisses, and invitations to play.
• My medication, because better living through chemistry is a wonderful thing.

Honestly, I should add the blog to the list... but I need to actually, you know, write. Maybe it'll help me connect the dots better.

Going Home

I am taking the train home tonight with mixed feelings.

The man I used to work for at the planetarium passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. His heart just stopped. Twenty minutes later they got it working again and while his body was living, he was long gone.

He and the planetarium were some of the things that kept me going while I was deployed and again while I was at Walter Reed. During the deployment I would call about once a week and he would tell me everything that was going on. Even though he was very much against OIF/OEF and would go protest downtown every week, he was very supportive of the actual Soldiers. He always told me how proud of me he was.

Although he was married, he and his wife never had any children. But, as I once told him, we were his kids -- the planetarium techs, the students he tutored, and many more, I'm sure.

I'm not going to lie -- there were some things that I stumbled across or happened that made me feel rather anxious about being around him. Go ahead and call me paranoid, but I'll just blame the PTSD. The last time I really spent time with him was New Year's Eve. I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

But I can tell you that no matter how much my feelings are mixed, I am going to miss him very much.

old challanges in new places

The dust has settled for the most part. The wedding and associated planning is over, Wolf is back at work, and I'm officially retired from the Army.

Fortunately, the to-do list has grown shorter. Set up my compensation exam, write thank-you notes, finish moving in and settling down. And, of course, wait.

Wolf and I were anticipating the move to be stressful, but I don't think either one of us expected it to be this bad. I've noticed that I feel much better at my parent's than at the apartment. I won't leave the apartment (other than potty breaks for the dogs) without Wolf. And then it's a matter of time before I start tweaking out and feeling detached. Which then leads me to wonder what people must be thinking when they see me like that. Not an easy cycle to break.

My biggest fear of going out alone is that I would fall and hurt myself and everyone would react and get too close which would probably only make things worse. I wear a medic alert bracelet just in case. Having someone there makes me feel more secure, but it doesn't prevent that feeling.

There's been talk of getting an assistance/response dog. A program trained dog that's big enough to be noticed by others (and act like a barrier), tall enough for balance work, and able to calm me and get help. Some programs don't allow working dogs to be placed in homes with pets or have some kind of restriction. I don't see Wolf or myself giving up our animals. If this is something we decide to do, we'll likely have to fight an uphill battle.

(Then again, what hasn't been an uphill battle lately?)

the desert hasn't left me

I may have left the desert, but I don't think the desert will ever leave me.

It's been almost eleven months since the MEDEVAC. Most of the sand has been scrubbed out of my boots and uniforms. My friends seem to have settled back down into routines that civilians would deem normal. I enjoy the lack of several, sometimes strict, restrictions that I had lived under a year ago.

But, it's not uncommon for me to view the world through a veil of memories from the desert. Drifting snow reminds me of drifting sand. The sound of thunder takes a few seconds to register. And the recent summer rains? Mudstorms, hard packed sand, flooded streets and walkways -- not to mention the association to a few bad memories. The landscape from quick news clips of Iraq look all too familiar. Even the mental pictures I have of Ky and Aramis have a desert backdrop.

Honestly, I thought summer would help. I thought that having a lifestyle closer to what I was used to pre-deployment would help. I thought that being around friends and family would help.

I went away and came back a different person -- for better or worse -- and I don't think I'll ever be able to look at the world they way I used to.

I got the phone call

Today, I got the phone call.

The Army had declared me medically unfit for service, they decided that it was service-related, and it was determined that I would get 30% disability. But, even with all of that, I was still in the Army.

That phone call? It was to let me know that I've been put on the list of Warriors in Transition to be out-processed from the Army next month. Out. Done. Retired.

(Finally.)

a different leap

Yes, I'm getting married. Yes, I'm getting married to Wolf, who has been my closest confidant since all of the craziness started. Yes, the wedding is in a few months. No, sorry, you're not invited.

He proposed shortly after Valentine's Day. It was actually something we had talked about, but neither of us thought it would happen so fast so soon. In a way, it almost has to be. Wolf is deploying again in the not so distant future, and actually living together beforehand is something we both think would be beneficial.

Only now everyone's obsessing about where I'm going to live during the deployment. Which, for now, is overshadowed by the obsessing over the wedding.

But, it's still a *little* scary. Moving away from home is not all that appealing right now.

I don't think it will ever be.

(Have I mentioned how much I hate snow?)

Retired at 23

My PEBLO called last week and informed me that I've been offered 30% disability and temporary disability retirement pay. It's exactly what I wanted, so of course I accepted. Now I hurry up and wait again for my discharge and my retirement pay to kick in. Only a little over a month more until that happens. In case you were wondering, it's the same thing Red received. Only he fought much longer than I did -- he really did want to stay in and return to his unit in the worst way. Considering I was MEDEVAC'd in August, it's taken nearly a year to get discharged. Although, I must admit, if I had said in Germany or Walter Reed that I wanted out of the Army I wouldn't have stayed on active duty this long.

It is a little weird to think of both Red and myself as medically unfit to serve, even if it is the truth. If you were to talk about it with my mom, she would tell you that I was never medically fit to join the Army in the first place and if I had stayed in the band, everything would have been just fine. I wouldn't be screwed up. I wouldn't be hiding in the house and avoiding people. Yes, I made the decision to learn another job and deploy -- but it's not my fault that I came back like this.

And really, who wouldn't expect change from a person who's been away from home, in a completely different environment, in a completely different culture (both military and host country), and a completely different daily routine? I didn't just come back with PTSD. I have new friends, a fiance, new interests and hobbies, and more insight and understanding of that part of the world. That's the short list. I don't regret choosing to deploy. I just wish things had turned out better.

it's been awhile

It wasn't until I logged in that I really realized how long it's been since I've written much of anything. Internet at my jobsite is filtered -- more than what it was in the desert -- and I don't really have a workstation to myself anyways. And there's all of that regular life stuff.

In a nutshell:

• Red is out of Walter Reed and on temporary retirement. (He's only 20.)
• I have been officially declared unfit for duty.
• My packet is at the med board, where they will decide how much disability and what separation benefits I'll get.
• Wolf and I have spent a lot of time together -- in fact, there's a rock on my finger. Technically, thirteen of them.
• The date is July 22. There's no rhyme or reason for picking that day, either.
• Someone has dragged me into the world of computer games. It's only contributing to the agoraphobia.
• I'm moving to upstate New York. Have I mentioned how much I hate snow?

Really, I do live.

bad start to the new year

Christmas may have been wonderful, but the New Year ended up being a disaster.

Red came to visit -- we were practically inseparable while at Walter Reed -- and for the most part it was one stupid argument or another. One was over dog training. There was more than one night that he slept on the couch and there was definitely days that I wanted him to drive back to DC. I wish I was joking.

That's not to say it was all bad. He tried to surprise me New Year's Eve by bringing me my Ativan and stayed for two shows. (Weeks later, I wished he stayed until I left.) We went out and did a few fun things -- which is a big deal for both of us.

But when your ex-boss tries to kiss you, your friend gets smashed and cries on your mom's shoulder, and you go to bed before the ball drops? Not such a good holiday.

And yes, I have a feeling that I'm going to report another incident of sexual harassment. I don't think I'll go back into the planetarium for a long time, if ever. I don't think I'll be involved in their big projects. And I don't think that I'll even register for classes next semester.

After everything that's happened, I just can't put myself in that kind of situation.