Day 25 - Passes

I usually have a pretty good ability to sense if a vacation or a weekend was a "fast" or a "slow" one. You know how sometimes time just flies by and other times it sits and drags on and on. My pass was one of the first times that I remember that I had difficulty judging how time went by.

I originally thought that time was flying by, but when I start to think back to the start of everything it seemed like it was long lasting. This reference of time was confirmed when I got back to the mobilization station and it felt like I had been out of the loop for a long time.

My time on pass was nice. My wife and I didn't do anything crazy like fly to Houston for the Colts game. We mainly just kept with the same routine that we have had for the past ten years of living together. We ate some food, visited with friends, and hung out. There wasn't really any need to change anything up since our little routine has worked so well for so long.

There was a lot that I would have like to do, but there just was not enough time to try to squeeze everything into the little time that I had. If I would have tried to get everything done, I probably would have spent too much time worrying about how to get everything done.

Of course, I had some shopping to do while I was at home and one of the smallest purchases that I made ended up being one of the most controversial. I've been a fan of Under Armour brand products for a long time and I love their boxer-briefs when I'm in uniform. They are comfortable and help to prevent chaffing. The only issue with them is they are fairly pricey, to the tune of about $20 a pair. I already have quite a few, but needed to pick up a few extra to help complete the set to cover me through laundry days, so I picked up three pairs at Dick's Sporting Goods.

Sometime after I bought my three pairs, my wife put a Facebook message up that I spent $60 on three pairs of underwear. This proceeded into a bunch of people inquiring about why I would spend that much on underwear. I started to get a little upset that it was that big of a deal. If some underwear helps my time in what is probably the most dangerous place on the planet go by a little faster, then who cares.

It probably wasn't a big deal, but for some reason it really started to bother me. Maybe it just caught me on a bad day.

Today's been busy.

It started tough, with kisses and tears. Saying goodbye to loved one's is something that doesn't come natural nor easily. There really aren't words that make anything easier, it just sucks not matter which way you slice it.

Then once I got back to the mobilization station, it was time to get to work. I turned in a bunch of equipment and started all the final preparations to leave shortly. Now, I'm beat and going to bed.