Down the Rabbit Hole

After approximately 25 hours on the go, the boys have arrived in Kuwait. In the best of times, Eli is not on good terms with flying. He recently had his smallpox vaccination, which appears to have contributed to even less tolerance for the big silver can with wings. Needless to say, he didn't enjoy the flights to Amsterdam and then on to Kuwait. On the flight to Kuwait they flew over Bhagdad. It was night and Eli reports they could see the lights of the city and several fires. Welcome to progress! They will be in Kuwait for a short period of time before heading into Iraq. Eli is looking forward with trepidation to the flight into Iraq. Combat landing on a C-130 involves staying at a high altitude until you are over the base, then rapidly spiraling down to landing. The idea is to avoid flying low over any airspace other then the base. Our anxiety level has taken a quantum leap. It was easy having the boys in Mississippi and avoiding thinking about the future. Now the future is here. They'll be in Iraq shortly and it's a physical feeling. Stress is now a daily part of my life. You would think it would be comforting to know that thousands of other families have lived through the same thing....it's not. It's personal.