Getting out of town was brutal. I’ve never worked so hard (or been so thankful to have Rob off of work last week to help me scramble to get everything done) or been so exhausted. I decided to wear my uniform on the airplane on the way to Louisiana…first because it was required, and second because, well, wearing it was easier than lugging more crap in my bag.
Suffice it to say that the Germans are not particularly used to seeing women in uniforms. Some type of civil service is still obligatory for young men there, but the young women don’t have the same requirement. Every time I wear a uniform in public in Germany, it makes me feel uncomfortable…like everyone’s watching. That will turn out to be good practice, I’m sure.
So there I am wearing a uniform in a German airport, and weird things start happening. A girl who is flying home to Kentucky comes and shakes my hand and thanks me for doing what I do. In the terminal, a guy with a very thick Middle Eastern accent asks me to describe my career field badge and how it’s different from pilot wings (because all we do in the Air Force is fly, thanks for the reminder). He also thanked me. Then I sat waiting for the airplane, and more people thanked me. Then I boarded the plane, slept for about four hours, then went to ask the flight attendants for some water…and one of them talked my ear off for at least 30 minutes.
People talk to me a lot (thanks for that trait, Mom) but yesterday, people were talking to me and reminding me that what I’m about to do is important. That made a huge difference. And while that didn’t make me miss Rob less, it did help me put things back into some type of perspective. I did sign up for this “go to war” business, after all. That was almost 10 years ago, and no one’s every asked me to go anywhere…so…I guess this is my lucky week!
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