TGIF!!

I am so glad it is finally Friday.

It has been a long, long, week and even though it hasn't been real busy, we are all tired. It doesn't help that the temperatures are still in the 100's....and that my truck still has no working air-conditioner. I just take it one day at a time.

Since Karla is recuperating from her surgery, she is still not suppose to cook or do housework. She still doesn't get around very well and still gets tired very easily....so, .one of her friends cooked us dinner last night. It was wonderful. We had very tender roast beef, potatoes, carrots, crescent rolls and brownies. I kept eating until Karla informed me I had to save some food for Gayla. All I know is it sure beat the microwave meals I have been cooking all week. I know she wanted a change of pace as well.

Since things have slowed down at work, I am not scheduled to work tomorrow. I am still on call, but not scheduled to work. I still have several errands to run tomorrow afternoon, especially some grocery shopping and a trip to the flea market. Other than that, I will monitor my work radio and see if anything exciting happens.

One thing that has really been on my mind all day are the soldiers that are fighting in Afghanistan. In the last two weeks, many soldiers from Oklahoma, who are serving in Afghanistan, have been killed. Because of that, there have been several military funerals in the past couple of weeks. Some of these soldiers have died in combat, while others have died in non-combat. I have always wondered what they meant by non-combat and got my answer today. Sometimes, soldiers die during training, due to accidents...sometimes they die due to vehicle accidents....and unfortunately, some die because they commit suicide.

These soldiers are very brave to go to another country to fight for our freedoms, but they see things that nobody should ever have to see. They have to kill people they don't know and sometimes they see women and children killed by the enemy. They see people getting blown up and body parts flying everywhere....they see death on a daily basis......they get into firefights with the enemy and wonder if they will survive. They live on the edge everyday and their lives are in danger constantly. When they are on patrol, they never know what they will come up on. They see their fellow soldiers get killed or maimed. With all of this death and tragedy going through their minds, I know they have to be getting depressed and scared. They get depressed and can't eat or sleep. They are actually afraid to go to sleep because they don't know if they will wake up or not.

There is only so much a person can handle emotionally and mentally. Some of these soldiers are able to handle it, while others have nightmares on a nightly basis and can't sleep because there is so much on their minds. It finally gets to the point where they know they are not going home for a long time and they just can't handle the pressure. They miss their families, friends and are in unfamiliar and dangerous territory. There only way out is to kill themselves. According to news reports, there have been hundreds and hundreds of soldiers who have killed themselves because they could no longer handle the pressure and the emotional toll on their minds and bodies. I just can't imagine being in their shoes and not knowing if I will live or die each day I wake up.

God bless our soldiers and their families.
 
http://www.centralokreact.org/