This is it

It has been quite some time since my last post, which I closed with a promise to post more. I've noticed the same problem with other milbloggers as well...especially reservists like me. When I peruse the blogs of others who have journaled from inside the war zone and have recently returned home there seems to be a trend of posts that state "I'm going home...I'll post more soon". But those follow on posts never really seem to materialize. Of course, I can't speak for others but I can definitely share why I went from a dedicated blogger to having nothing more than crickets chirping since I've returned.

Its not that I have stopped caring. To the contrary I think about the war every single day, and I think about the blog almost as often. I think about the troops that are still there and how their story needs to be told, and I think about the loyal readers I had while I was still in Iraq and telling my story. When I think about the latter I actually feel a bit guilty... that I have somehow left people hanging by not continuing to post as I had promised. The reality, however, is that I can't tell that story any more since I'm no longer there. While I was deployed this blog became my outlet and I was passionate about making every single post as compelling as possible. I wanted to tell stories that kept readers interested by revealing people and places they wouldn't see anywhere else. But I don't have those stories to tell anymore. Even more so...those stories have been replaced with just good ole' regular life back in the U.S. After I returned I took the family to Disney, took a few weeks off, and now I'm back to work at my civillian job. I'm not a politician, or an activist. I obviously have my opinions, but at the end of the day I'm just a guy trying to be the best husband and father I can be and who also happens to be a resrvist that got deployed for a year in Iraq. I'm proud of what we accomplished there. In fact, my only regret is that I personally didn't do more...that I didn't try harder to make a difference. There are days when I wish I could go back with the knowledge I have now and do things better (my wife is gonna hurt me when she reads that). But my turn is over, and we still have the best trained, most professional military on the ground, and they will continue to do the stellar job they have always done. They still need your support so keep lifting them in prayer and keep the care packages flowing. Despite our short attention span as Americans, this war is not over nor will it be any time soon. So let's not forget about those who put themsleves in harms way on our behalf.

As for me...I'm going to get on with the business of living. I still have a lot of lost time to make up for and I intend to do so to the best of my ability. I want to thank all those who supported me while I was deployed. Sometimes it was an encouraging email or post, and other times it was a care package that came at just the right time. So many of you I have never even met, which makes it even that much more appreciated.

I will forever be amazed at how this blog became so much more than I ever intended, and I am glad I was able to share my small story with so many people.

The local news did a story on my return which is archived here.


This is Panther 4...out.