I was hiding behind my mothers leg when we met. She was hiding behind hers. The game of shyness lasted the whole of our mothers chat that day. Neither of us brave enough to come out from behind our protective posts. We were 3. She is now my oldest friend.
Like friends do, she moved, I moved. We grew up. University took her into the military. Then around the world on a boat. Then a few short years in Halifax only to move again to Ontario. When we left high school I gave her half of a heart. The kind of charm you break in half and each keeps a piece. One day she showed me her dog tags, and to my surprise there was my half heart. It had been close to 10 years.
She is Reiley's god mother, she witnessed my marriage and she stills comes to play with me when we have the chance. The years dissolve when I see her, like no time has passed. I think of her often, and today especially. On this remembrance day she is in Afghanistan.
I don't understand all the politics behind any of the wars really. Especially today's. They seem more complicated. Less about ideals and more about greed. Schoolyard bullies on a global scale. Despite any ones belief of whether Canada should or shouldn't be in Afghanistan politically, there is one truth that can't be denied. The people who are there, are there to help and they are giving themselves completely to do that. I admire their selflessness.
Today I remember to give thanks. For the freedom our soldiers fought for in the past. So I could grow up with my friend and not know death. For the soldiers who fight today, so a family can wake up and Dad can go to work and his daughter can go find her friend and play.
3 comments:
really great post...love the story of you and your friend meeting. i have a lot of ambivalence about the Afghan mission, but i still think serving is a tough job...and in many ways made tougher by the fact that war's relationship to ideals seems strained.
i hope your fiend - and all our soldiers - come home safely. i wish they could come soon.
When I talk to her about why she wants to go, it's so honest and simple. The news (Canadian and otherwise) is not.
Harsh truth has often shatterd my idealic world, but I still hold on to the belief that Canada = peacekeepers. I hope we aren't a puppet in someones cruel play.
Over 175 days overseas so far and the knicknacks are some of the things that have kept me focused and sane (half heart and salamander from you, pics all over my walls from Reiley and Owen and cards from my Mom, crystal from France, NS tartan scarf from Mr. Bishara, teddy wearing Sou'wester from my Aunt, the Cdn quilt on my bed from Lenka) All these things, I see daily here in Afghanistan that reminds me of the person that I am, where I came from and the people that are important to me. You are truly a part of that - thank you for helping me to be a stronger and more beautiful person in a place that isn't always that way.
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