Surreality

Up at Camp this week for some pre-mobilization checks, I was struck by the surreality of it all. I was driving around post with a friend of mine in his Chevy Avalanche, and we were just going along doing what we had to do without any real schedule or worries. Very dreamlike as I thought about the future and how that would compare.

Come a few months from now, we will be in uparmored vehicles, wary of getting attacked or blown up; under strict timelines, checkpoints, and procedures;  in unfathomable heat and sun; with little freedom or choice. 

Trying to savor the moments of freedom and openness here is definitely one of the hardest and most surreal kinds of feelings. One of the good things about knowing I'm getting deployed is being able to truly enjoy some of the little things back home just a little bit more. Similar feeling I would think to the ones described in Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying." (lyrics) (music video if you're a country fan)