The things we do to fill the void.

Finals were last week, I can't begin to explain how relieved I am that it is finally over..at least for a few months. Sweet sweet freedom, sweet sweet summer...oh crap..what do I do now?

The days are so ridiculously long now that I have all this free time on my hands. If you know me then you know that I have extreme OCD with schedules. Monday is spent cleaning upstairs top to bottom, Tuesday is spent cleaning downstairs top to bottom..but what do I do with Wednesday, Thursday and Friday now that I don't have to fill those days with homework? Naptime, was homework...bedtime was homework. 

I am finding myself with so much down time that my brain has too much time to wander. I find that this week has been one of the hardest emotion wise when it comes to thinking of worst case scenarios dealing with Iraq and the man I love who is over there. I'm finding myself lonely and bored, something that has yet to happen for the past 15 weeks and 5 days. It's hard to be lonely when every minute is spent dealing with kids or doing homework then you crash in bed around midnight, completely exhausted.

So, seeing as I knew I would need to fill the void in my schedule..I have picked up exercise. One of the gyms on post offers two hours a day of free childcare if you use their center, so I have been frequenting them every night for the past two weeks. I had only been using an hour in the evening but I now plan on using my second hour in the morning. I feel incredible!

I spend about 15 minutes doing cardio on the elliptical, hit the weights for 30 minutes and then wrap up with a 15 minute jog on the treadmil. I feel healthier, I have more energy and I'm working towards my bikini body for the summer. I am able to have alone time during the day where I don't find myself worrying about the girls, or about whether or not my husband is going to make it home. I'm able to just be and do something positive for me and this is something that I needed.

So there it is, this is the new thing I do to fill the void.

"Osama Bin Laden is dead, bring our troops home now!"

"Osama Bin Laden is dead, bring our troops home now!"

Really? Like really?! The first couple times I saw this statement I thought people were just excited about Osama being dead, and then I realized..people really mean it.

First off, Osama was just ONE man...there are still many like him out there. He was the leader of al-Qaeda, with MANY devoted followers. Do you remember the emotions American's felt after 9/11, when we watched our enemies dance in the street rejoicing the death of our people? How do you think Osama's followers feel with his death being at our hands and our people dancing in the streets rejoicing his death?

They probably feel the exact same thing we felt, 100% rage.

Do you think the wisest decision is to pull our troops out after a massive blow to their moral and their people? Hell no! This war was started to end terror, not end the life of Osama Bin Laden. His life is over, the war on terror is not...especially now. Military installations all over raised their threat level in anticipation and preperation of a back lash from our enemies. They WILL try to attack, the question is just when and where and if they will be successful. The last thing the American people, and military, need to do is to drop their guard and think that we are now safe because ONE man is dead. If anything, we are at a higher risk. Those in the military community know this best, as we fear for the lives of our deployed troops even more and the safety of American's here at home.

People keep asking me if I think this means Tim will be coming home early, and the answer to that question is no. Tim is in Iraq, doing a completely separate job...he wasn't out playing hide n go seek with Osama Bin Laden. Tim is a part of Operation New Dawn. During Operation New Dawn, the remaining 50,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq will conduct stability operations, focusing on advising, assisting and training Iraqi Security Forces.

Now, I don't want people to read this and finish with the mindset that I am pro-war. What I am for is finishing a job we started, ending terrorism in the Middle East the same way we ended the terrorism in Europe(Holocaust). Until al-Qaeda has been defeated, this war can't be over. If we pull our troops out and come back home, all this does is give al-Qaeda the time to recover and bring the war back to our soil.

"For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda. His death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad. As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity."- Obama


I don't mean to sound as if I am insulting the intelligence of those who want to bring our troops home now that Osama is dead, I just want people to realize and understand that Osama isn't the sole reason we are in the Middle East. We all want our troops home, I miss my husband more than anything in this world...but there is a job that still needs to be done..and after all, that is the point of our military. THIS is what they are trained for.