It has been 3 months since I arrived back on American soil the evening of July 2nd. It was an amazing feeling to be home again after a long, tough deployment. The ephoria of being home wore off in three or four weeks. I was then left to process all that happened in Afghanistan. As much as I would like to forget about it all, that's impossible. My two deployments are now a part of me forever. As I write this, not even one fiber of my being wants to return to Afghanistan in this lifetime. Who want want to go back to that war torn country when you live in America?
In the last few months I have been able to see and do a lot. It has solidified the fact that we live in an amazing country. In July I took a trip to San Francisco. Wow, what a fabulous city! I met up with my friend Mona there. She is a dynamic person that I met while living in Nebraska. We had an absolute blast touring and experiencing all that San Fran has to offer. The scenery along the coast really is "breathtaking". That's the first time I've ever used that word to describe something! Of course, I ran the San Francisco Half Marathon for fun. It actually went over The Golden Gate Bridge. Not your average Sunday morning run for sure! Perhaps the best experience in San Francisco was something completely random. Mona and I were walking back to our hotel when we came upon a crowd. There was music blasting. People were dancing. Essentially, it was a spontaneous dance party right in front of city hall. It was the most eclectic group of people I have ever seen all having a blast right in the middle of the city. Nobody cared. It was just pure fun. The cops drove by and told everyone to have a good time. So, here was a group of total strangers from all walks of life who were able to spontaneously come together. I was astounded. None of the people wanted to kill anyone. There was no hatred. Politics did not matter. It was just pure fun. The war seemed a million miles away for me.
In September I was able to take another cool trip, this time to Seattle. I went with my good friend Jeremy from Charleston. We went there to experience the northwest, to take in the sights, and to get away from our busy lives. It was an action packed vacation. We started by going to the top of the Space Needle. We finished by taking in a college football game between my team Nebraska and the University of Washington. In between we went kayacking on Lake Union with the Seattle skyline at our backs, travelled up to see the surprisingly cosmepolitan metropolis of Vancouver, and did white water rafting in the mountains. Mostly though we explored the interesting city of Seattle. The neighborhoods have so much character. The layout of the city is unique with Elliot Bay, Puget Sound, and 3 lakes dividing up the city. The air is fresh and cool. On a sunny day, it is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the USA. The sun was shining at Husky Stadium as we watched my Nebraska Cornhuskers pile on the touchdowns against the University of Washington. The only thing that reminded me of the war that day was the fly over of fighter jets, and those thoughts were fleeting. I was in heaven that day.
On top of these vacations, I get to live in the crown jewel of the south. Living in Charleston is a little slice of paradise. I never get tired of strolling through the historic district. The ocean is always refreshing here. The people are friendly. I live in Mount Pleasant which often is called Mount Perfect. Need I say more? My summer in Charleston was filled with family visits and reconnecting with friends here. My parents both came for nice visits. And, over Labor day weekend we were able to have 5 of the 6 Hayes siblings and 9 of the 12 nieces and nephews all here for the weekend. We had a blast together. There were Hayes kids running all over the beach. We all visited my sister Annie at her art booth in the Charleston market one night. My 12 year old nephew Joe got to meet his first ever bachelorette party while we were downtown that night. The photo of that is priceless and is currently displayed on my refrigerator. Good times.
After 6 months in a dusty, smelly, dry, nasty place... well, anything would seem better than Afghanistan. Americans often overlook the fact that we live in a vast country with so many interesting things to see and do. I hope to never take our country for granted again. After all, America is Beautiful!
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