life in a bubble

I recently found out that due to current politcal events, the combat-designated hazardous duty zone that my husband is currently in is actually safer now than certain other parts of the world. This explains why I haven't heard much from him the past week beyond, "everything's fine, I'm alive"

I could think of it as a drawback to being unplugged from the 24/7 cable newsfeed and the always-on Net connection. The realities of dialup at my mom's house mean that I live with once-a-day checking of email, my Net habits are greatly curtailed, and I don't watch much more than 2 hours of tv at most per day. This is not a bad thing. It's good for all of us to unplug from time to time and just enjoy life. Play with your kids. Watch them grow. Get your butt off the living room floor and out into the grass in the shade of a tree. Especially when the summer's here, and the weather's perfect for going outside, and even more especially because these days are all too short.

In a few short weeks I'll go back to the daily grind of Knowing. I'll be reading the news everyday instead of deleting the emailed highlights that I get from the Washington Post and never even logging onto CNN. I'll be aware of the risks facing our armed forces in a way that only life in a military town/community can make you. It's not just some Thing on the news, when I'm home in San Diego. It's the Thing that may mean that my husband will be away for a lot of the next several years. It's the thing that may mean that he'll be in harm's way, and that communication will be severely restricted.

It's the Thing that means a lot of other women's husbands will be shot at and may never EVER come home again.

A good friend of mine reminded me of the Shipwives' wisdom last night when she told me to enjoy my bubble for the time being. The political reality will be there when I come back. The peace of mind that comes with being able to sleep at night and not worry that my Boy comes back safe... that's all too easily broken sometimes.