January 1st 2011 - New Year Same Old Place

Well, today marks the beginning of 2011 and the passing of the 2010 Holiday season.  While this Holiday season was memorable it’s something that I’m happy to see in the rearview mirror. 

I’m the type of guy that normally loves this time of year and everything that goes with them: family, friends, get-togethers, cheer, shopping, and all of the “stuff” that entails Thanksgiving through New Year.  This year though, I found myself 8,000 miles away from the holiday activities and in the middle of nowhere Afghanistan. 

It really is strange being away from everyone during the Holidays.  While I knew it was that time of year, I just wanted to avoid thinking about it.  I basically took the mentality that if I just put my head down and moved forward, I could plow through this time of year and come out them facing the halfway point of this deployment. 

I think that part of the reason why I avoided thinking about the Holidays too much was that if I think about them, then I think about everyone back home excited that it’s that time of year.  I’m certain that my family and friends thought of me at the family gatherings and get-togethers with friends, but was my absence going to stop the festivities?  No, it most certainly was not, which means while I’m here, they are there enjoying themselves. 

Do you remember back to your childhood when you came back from vacation and went to school and talked about what you did over (Christmas, spring, summer) break?  There was always one kid that did something awesome like went to Hawaii or Australia and suddenly your break did not seem so exciting anymore.  You felt shorted even though minutes before you were thinking that you had the best break ever.  That’s what it’s like here…if I never talk to anyone about their break then I’ll never know how awesome their break was and I’ll be secure in my little anti-social bubble. 

For the first two months here time was flying, but the last month has really dragged.  It felt like we were stuck in December for months.  I really am hoping it was just a byproduct of the holiday season.  Right now I’m just focusing on my next milestone, and that’s going to be my leave in 56 days.  Once I hit that it also means that I’ll be over the halfway point of the deployment and I can start closing in on the end.  As of now, the end feels almost incomprehensibly far away.