"I'm coming home!" We say these words as we call our loved ones after leaving work. We say them as we finish running to the store to buy the last bit of ingredients for the red hot chile, with the extra kick. Heck, Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey even sang them.
Those words mean so much more to military families. They dream about them. They even use these words in the form of a question, with the beginning word being "when."
"When are you coming home, Daddy?" expressed by a near three year old girl, as she stares into a camera deep inside her mom's laptop computer. He's miles away, donning his U.S. Army attire through the screen. She's tried touching him, wondering why she can't feel his skin, his hair and his beard. All she feels is the smooth, hard surface of the glass.
"When are you coming home, Daddy?", with the answer being, "A year, my darling daughter." She doesn't understand how long that is, because she just learned that when the sun comes up, it goes down sometime later that day, and when she wakes up she will see that same sun again.
This same girl learns how to count, not by blocks or writing numbers. Instead, she watches her mom make "X marks the spot" signs in tiny squares that adorn the calendar taped to the fridge.
With her mom's help, she counts the number of "X's, and when she counts past the number 20, she gets so confused that she beings to yell, "Start over! Start over!"
She's not really mad about getting the counting right. She's mad because she wants her Dad. "When are you coming home?" gets replaced with, "Why did you even leave me?"
I want anyone serving the military to come home. I want this for every child that needs their Dad or Mom to tuck them into bed at night, while whispering the words, "Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite." These words aren't that comforting, literally. However, if you asked that little girl if they scared her, she'd most likely tell you they're nothing compared to the fear of living one more day without her Dad.
Watch the YouTube clip below, courtesy of ESPN. I dare you to do so with a dry eye. Allow the love you witness to appreciate your home, your family, and your life.
"I'm coming home." Sing it, Dr. Dre. Sing it loud.
Happy Veteran's Day.
