After a year of planning things are finally coming closer to reality. In a few weeks I am off to Guam for about a month and have very mixed emotions about the trip. On the one hand it will be a wonderful experience. I’m going with what I believe to be the best unit in all of the Air Force (of course I’m a little biased, but the unit’s track record and performance may be a more objective measure). All of the people that I will be directly working with are the best of the best. If I were able to hand pick the people in our unit that I would want to work and spend every day with for the next month (or year), the list would not change. We have an important mission to accomplish while we are there, but it is also a beautiful south pacific island and pretty darn close to paradise. There will be opportunities to explore the island, do some scuba diving and maybe just relax on the beach a little. The other side of the coin is the time away from my family. Last year during the G-20 I was deployed to the other side of Pittsburgh with an Army unit for a week, the longest I have been away from my wife since we first started dating. My wife is incredibly strong and able with our children, she is a truly fantastic mother. Her folks will be around a lot to help out, so I know that house and home will be well taken care of, but it does not make it any easier to be gone for such and extended period. A month is a long time and I am already missing my wife, my daughter and especially our twin boys. I know that my wife and to a small degree my daughter can understand me being away, but at 14 months old, my boys have no concept. They are doing new things every day and their little personalities are just bubbling out. I’m setting up skype and a camera on our big living room tv in the hopes that I’ll be able to see and interact with a little bit, but I know it will not be the same. I have noticed lately that I am a lot more willing to engage with all three children no matter how tired I feel. I guess I am just trying to bank up some quality time before I depart.
