It's all about respect

My daughter Rayanne asked me if I would come to the Military base to help welcome her boyfriend Nate back from his 7 months of 'fighting for his country' in Afghanistan last night.

It took me about one second to say "absolutely.'

I'm glad I did because I 'upped' my respect not only for the Military who make the world a safer place for all of us - but for the women, children, and spouses who also pay a huge price while they stay back here in Canada.

Like most of us the longest I think I've seen a report on the terrible war is about 'twenty seconds' - because that's about as much content television shows give us during the nightly news - that is until there's a death over there and then we at least get to know 'a little' about the military men and women who lost their lives.

I walked into a very empty 'gym' on the base thinking we had the wrong spot - then one by one - the place began to fill up. Tim Hortons donuts and coffee were provided for us (Thanks Timmy!) - and then a four piece military band showed up and started to play songs.

After about twenty minutes the room started to fill up with Mothers - Fathers - Wives - children - and 'babies' - many of them clutching gifts for the soldier. Flowers. Pictures. Balloons.

Most of the groups sat 'alone' - not in large groups - which only magnified the 'personal" aspect of the welcome back event.

There was no look of 'happiness' on their faces - it was more a look of "thank god they are coming home safe" look.

I tried to guess the ages of the babies in the mothers hands - and, with help from my wife Kim, figured that most were "under" one year old - meaning that the Fathers probably were fortunate enough just to welcome their child into the world only to kiss the wife and baby goodbye - and to fly half way around the world to fight somebody else's war.

Finally - the door to the gym opened up and a beautiful large bus poked it's nose into the hall. Later we heard that the POLICE had ushered the troops from the Edmonton Airport all the way through town to enjoy this moment without interruption from traffic - which surely helped the Troops hearts beat just a little bit quicker.

As the door opened - 'everybody' in the room cheered. The band hit a high note - and one by one 'in full uniform' the soldiers walked into the gym. It was virtually impossible to figure out who was who quickly as they simply all looked the same.

The moment that the eye to eye contact was made by soldier to family member a most beautiful look became visible on their faces. A massive hug took place - a sigh of relief was felt - and that moment or two of 'love' that was being shared simpy overwhelmed me.

The most touching moment for me was standing beside a mother who was holding about a six month old child in her hands. "Dad" walked over - she handed him his new baby - and all i could think about was quickly snapping a picture and placing it on my Facebook site with a small caption that said "Dad - meet your son!"

Nate simply walked over to us - hugged Rayanne - and about the third phrase that came out of his mouth was "I don't ever want to go back there."

After seven months; after living in foxholes - dodging IED's' - losing some friends - he stated "I really don't know how much progress we made - they don't seem to want to change anything - and their religious beliefs can not be overcome."

He had flown for 25 hours - was 10 and a half hours out of whack time zone wise - and was now back on 'secure' land for the first time in more than half a year.

I shook his hand as firm as I possibly can - but don't know if there was 'any' way I could tell him how much respect I have for what he had just accomplished. My generation can only be described as "spoiled" - and never had to serve in such a situation.

We have overpaid hockey payers whining about their lots in life and I could only think how wonderful it would be to exchange that hockey stick for a gun and see how much their lives and their families lives would change.

In any case - life becomes 'normal' again in our household. My daughter doesn't have to stay up worrying anymore when another military death occurs over there and we all wait until the announcement of their names to make sure that Nate was still alive.

Oh - and the most ironic part. The news clip on their arrival was on the television this morning. I timed it. Twenty seconds.

That's way too little to express what I saw last night.

God bless our military and their families - they all pay the price for our wonderful life on this side of the world.