A Phone Call Home

This morning Brendan finally called home. It was so wonderful hearing his voice! He sounded good and seemed to be in pretty good spirits. They are keeping him busy with training and classes which is good...helps the time go a bit faster. I'm always amazed at the first aid training they get in the military. During basic they learned to give each other IV's. Down in Fort Hood he volunteered to have a tube shoved down his nose (pretty sure he won't be volunteering for that again!). In Kuwait they practiced on a dummy to stick a needle in someone's lung if it collapses. Keep it up and he'll be a doctor by the time he leaves the Army!!

He said the food at chow hall is pretty good. They have a KFC, Burger King and Taco Bell there but he's been eating in the chow hall. He's trying to live on $50 a week so he'll have a nice savings when he gets back. Best part of chow hall? They have a Baskin and Robbins and it's FREE! I KNOW!! There's also a movie house and the USO there is really nice. He says they have a lot of flat screen tvs and video games to keep the guys entertained. They also have musical groups coming there on a pretty frequent basis. Someone came and gave the guys camel rides. Brendan filmed it but didn't ride one. The video camera I bought him is getting quite a workout. Not sure when I'll get to see any of the things he's filming as the internet there is extremely slow.

Pretty sure he won't be wanting to hit the beach anytime soon after his return. Sand storms are pretty frequent in Kuwait. He says you can look out during a storm and see nothing but orange. You taste sand , get sand in your eyes...he HATES sand now! One item that appears on all the suggested care package lists is canned air. Got to blow all the sand out of your electronics. He's been told it's not near as bad in Iraq as the ground is harder there than it is in Kuwait.

As with everything Army dates are constantly changing for everything. He was thinking he'ld be in Iraq by the end of the month but now they gave him a date in March. The longer he's in Kuwait the easier I'll rest. As the Iraqi's take back their country the troops will slowly be moved out so not sure where he'll end up by the end of the year. For now he's anxious to get there so he can sleep in a bed , I'm sure. They are sleeping on stiff old army cots for now.

I was talking to Brendan about something and he started looking through his notes. he takes notes on everything he learns over there. Pretty amazing. I don't think he ever took notes in school!! I'm so proud of him. He's a great soldier and has really embraced the military life. He's just trying to stay focused on what he has to do and is allowing Rachel to make all the decisions for herself on matters here.

I see quite a few organizations who say they collect money for calling cards for the troops but I wonder how they get them. Brendan has been having to buy calling cards to call home.

I have had a really hard time since he left but hearing from him today has given me a jolt of positive energy. Just knowing he's doing ok and is sounding good is what I needed. Seems like he's been gone forever already. It's going to be a long year but I know in the scheme of life it'll be a blip on the map of time. Just wish I could hop a plane and visit him.