Feeling Selfish

One of my best friends is coming home on leave from Iraq. He’s going to get married in Vegas when he gets home. His original dates for getting married worked great for me, but the new ones are coinciding with a big project I have to do for work. No way I could get out of it. Now the dates (for work) are slipping so I am going to try to make it to the wedding.

I feel bad, because when I get to Vegas I’ll have been on the road for over a month. It will also take me about 8 hours of travel to get to Vegas so I can be there for him. I’m working long hours and the city (NYC) is really grating on me. I know when I get there I’ll be tired and burned out with one main thought on my mind – home.

Why is this selfish? I’m pretty sure I wrote about this before, but let’s look at it from my friend’s perspective. He’s on his way back to the U.S. right now. I don’t know if he’s in Iraq, Kuwait, Germany, or over the ocean somewhere. It takes him two to three days to get home!! That makes my eight hours of travel seem pretty insignificant right there.

Let’s also not forget that he has been away from home since November of last year. He’s been out of the country for almost as long. Again, I’ll have only been away from home for about 6 weeks once I make it to Vegas. I have a nice room, good restaurants and bars, and most of the creature comforts we have come to know in the U.S. He’s been standing guard duty in sandstorms, rooming with multiple people, and generally living a much harsher life than most of us.

So, while it doesn’t make me feel any better…it does kind of help me screw my head on straight. Whether you personally believe in the war, or whether or not “we” should be there, it’s really “they” that are there….the men and women of our armed forces and we should respect the sacrifice that they are making.

I’m going to go out and have a nice dinner tonight, and I’ll sleep safe thanks to those people who make that sacrifice every day – regardless of where they are. And, when I get to Vegas and I’m tired and worn out I’ll remember that one of my best friends has been through far worse to make it back home and marry the one he loves. Oh yeah, the party is ON!