This past weekend I was one of the "adult" guides at my daughter Maddy's confirmation retreat up in the mountains. It' takes place at a beautiful camp about three hours south of Denver, and on the way up and back to this camp you drive right by Fort Carson military base in Colorado Springs. The Fort has been there for years, but I've never had the chance to visit it, or even drive by the facility (I'm a military nut and a huge supporter of our troops, so it's always cool for me to see those things).
On the way up to the camp on Friday afternoon I passed the many buildings and housing that make up Fort Carson, and thought to myself, "Well, that kind of stinks, all you can see from the highway are houses and apartments...no tanks, or planes, or troops drilling, etc." So I went back into my "bubble" thinking about my own life, and dreading spending 2 nights in a cabin with 12 junior high boys (yuck).
Anyway...the camp went fine, the kids were cool (though smelly...my gosh did WE smell like that in junior high?) And as we prepared to leave Sunday morning, I happened to hear a news report that we had lost 10 soldiers in Afghanistan over the weekend, and that 8 of them were from Fort Carson. And that these deaths brought the total lost from Fort Carson in Iraq and Afghanistan to 270 soldiers!
Needless to say, it made driving by the camp much different on the way home. Instead of looking for "cool things"...I took special notice of those houses and apartments. All of the dwellings face away from the highway, so you see into the backyards of the folks that live on the base. And when you look in a person's backyard, you really get a snapshot of how they live...and when you look in these backyards, their sacrifice really hits home.
As we drove by I noticed swing sets, and bar-b-ques, and bicycles. I noticed little badminton nets and small clothes-lines. And I noticed some kids chasing each other around a playground.
When you see that you can't help but wonder, "Was one of those soldiers living in that house? Is that little boy going to hear the news today about his dad? Did a soldier that just died sit at that picnic table?" They volunteer to leave all this behind in order to go and fight (and sometimes die) for the freedom we all enjoy.
It humbled me and made me realize that there is nothing I will ever face in my world of sales and training that can compare to what these brave people must do...it's not even the same league.
To complain and worry about my life is ridiculous. What I should do is keep my mouth shut and be thankful for these heroes...and do whatever I can to support them in every way possible.
I hope you do the same.
GB
