OMG!!!!....I have been extended in Iraq 6 months!

You know what today is? It's April 1st...April fool's day!...Ha ha. No, it's not true. We have not been extended in Iraq. Not yet anyway. So everyone can take a deep breath. Well, you never know. In the last few months there have been a few National Guard units who have been extended in Iraq for a few months, but we don't believe that we will be extended ourselves. But if we did get extended, there would be nothing we could do about it anyway, so we continue to count down the days until we are scheduled to re-deploy. Right now, we are looking at about 4 months, which would get me back to the US by late summer. As much as I have enjoyed this experience, I am looking forward to coming back to Albany to be with my friends, with T and the doggies. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Anyway, March is now gone and April is here. Last year (on this day) I had a blog entry that talked about how much I wished my orders would come so that I could leave for Ft. Hood and start my deployment. As it turned out, that week would be my last week in Albany before I headed out. But anyway, here we are a year later and I believe I am a changed man. I think I am more confident then I was. More relaxed. More reflective too. I also better appreciate the many things I took for granted when I was back home. Being with friends, sunday brunch, hanging with my family. I also have been greatly moved by what I have seen here. I understand more about the struggles that other human beings are going through. Other soldiers who have to deal with many problems here and at home. Marriages gone bad...sick spouses...problems with their kids. The fear of the average Iraqi, wondering if the next time they go to a Mosque or to the market they and their families will be blown up. The men and woman who work so hard for low pay in a dangerous environment just so they can go back to India or the Philippines or Uganda with a little something for their families. There is a lot of people struggling right now. Here. At home. All over. But it is the beginning of Holy Week. Next Sunday is Easter. As a kid, I always remember what that meant. Hope. Resurrection. Renewal. Salvation. At the end of a difficult week comes Easter. The Bible tells us this. Depression and sadness on Good Friday but joy and rebirth on Easter Sunday. It's a nice thought don't you think? Anyway, enough about religion. Let's get straight to all those wonderful Easter traditions like "Easter eggs", fluffy bunnies, jelly beans, and Charlton Heston. (or is that Max Van Sydow?) Ahhh I miss those days when we got our new stuffed animals and ate the ears off chocolate rabbits. Mom never explained to us why we colored eggs at Easter or what bunnies had to do with our Lord dying on a cross. But as kids, well we just liked getting stuff from the Easter Bunny so I guess it didnt matter. So its another holiday in the "cradle of civilization". The biggies are out of the way....Halloween, Thankgiving, Christmas, New Years...now Easter. (I don't count Valentine's Day because I was in Atlanta that day). Coming up...Memorial Day...4th of July...then it's back home. Just in time for my birthday. What a celebration that will be. But until then....Happy Easter...Happy Passover....Happy Spring!