What an interesting week this was! The first really neat item was going skating with the Special Olympians on Wednesday. Those that were able to skate had a blast. There were also kids in electric wheelchairs zooming around the rink, and people pushing kids in manual chairs and on rolling walkers. Some of the kids in wheelchairs had skates on their feet so they could "skate" too. The ones who couldn't do either of these got to enjoy the music. Everybody went out on the rink for the Hokey Pokey and the Chicken Dance. Oh what fun they all had, and what a pleasure to be there with them!
The second REALLY good thing was the homecoming of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion back to Ft. Gillem. Many of these folks were over there with Barry. It was so wonderful to see them reunited with their families. The boys got to see their buddy, 2LT Thompson, and he was happy to see them too. One of the special ed classes made a big "Welcome Home" banner for Chief Simms, as he had written to them while he was overseas. The other part of the battalion is still over there, so prayers have to continue for all our troops.
Friday night was the Rock-A-Thon at the middle school to benefit the music program. Each kid raised money by rocking in rocking chairs from 6:00-11:00 PM. Several kids could go in together and "rent" a power outlet to plug in televisions and game systems. They had a blast! Aaron and his buddies played all night, and they were wired when I went to collect him at 11:00.
Saturday and Sunday were the conclusion of IET for me. This time we did LOTS more drill and ceremonies, map and compass, commo, how to sweep for IED's, and my personal favorite - guard duty! We just about marched our feet off, but we did improve! Searching for IED's was challenging. We totally missed one that was placed in our area of the motor pool. Scary! This time the females were given a large bay to sleep in, but the roll-down door didn't roll down all the way. This left a gap at the bottom through which creepy-crawlies could get in, and two of our females were sleeping on mats on the floor. We played the "pitiful card" and managed to get moved to one of the only places in the armory with air conditioning! Let's see...got to bed about 12:15, back up for guard duty at 1:00, back to sleep about 2:30, then up at 4:00 for an "emergency" scenario. They told us that a 4-6 year old girl had climbed the armory fence and was somewhere inside the compound. For the next hour I guarded a large section of the fence. I came to the conclusion that if a 4-6 year old girl could climb a 15 foot fence topped by razor wire, I wouldn't get in her way! They finally called us all in, let us get cleaned up, and we had breakfast. Talk about a short night! During chapel service, the pastor got a little lengthy with the closing prayer. I just knew I'd hear a KONK as somebody fell asleep and hit their head. I just prayed it wasn't me! We also learned some land navigation stuff too. I paired up with a fellow medic, and we did pretty well. We also decided that if we were dumped off somewhere with just a compass and protractor to save us, we'd just set fire to something and wait for somebody to find us.
Graduation was the highlight of the day. Barry and the children arrived with Granny and Papa. One of our instructors came and told me in formation that he was honored to have met Papa. Soon afterward my family was seated in the front row, and we went outside to practice. As we prepared to go back in, it was announced to the whole class who Papa was, and that he was a D-Day medic on Omaha Beach. We were told that we could render him honors as we graduated if we chose to. As we marched in, I could see the kids smiling as they saw me. The dignitaries were introduced, and then Papa was too. They announced he was there to see his granddaughter graduate. I was so proud!!! Then they announced that they were giving a Commandant's Award to the soldier who was specifically chosen by the Commandant based on a "strong sense of personal morals, responsibility, leadership by example, excellence, and commitment to the Georgia State Defense Force." Guess who they called? Me! I got a beautiful certificate, a brigade coin from LTC Hightower, and a 1 year paid membership in the Association of the Georgia State Defense Force courtesy of the Command Sergeant Major. I couldn't believe it. Then graduation began, and soldier after soldier turned after receiving their certificate and either saluted Papa or shook his hand. I was next to last, and after saluting LTC Hightower, I turned and saluted Papa too. Both of us were beaming at each other! Granny will have a lot to tell Mrs. Lucille tonight!!!
Through all of this, Barry stood very proud. After watching him for about 16 years, he got to see me do something good. I couldn't have done it without him. Just knowing he was there made me stand a little taller and gave me more confidence. What a great end to a great week!
