Deployed

Some of you know that I have a step-brother, Brian, who is in the Army, 82nd Airborne to be exact. He is 33 years old and lives in North Carolina with his wife, Suzanne, his step-daughter, Reagan, and his little girl, Phoebe. Today I received a letter from Suzanne stating that Brian was deployed to Iraq, the beginning of January. He is supposed to be there for at least 6 months and could be there until December 31st.

I have not seen Brian or his family since around 2001. I know that Phoebe was little. (I am looking at her picture now and she is wearing 'swimmies' at Grammy's camper. What a great family photo.) So, to say the least, it has been about 6 years since I have seen him. We do have a little bit of contact via email. Nothing elaborate, just a 'hey, how are you?' every now and then.

But when I received that letter, my heart sank and my stomach flipped. I started to cry. Knowing that my little brother is over there fighting for his life, for our country, for us. He is a wonderful person and a great Dad. And all I can think of, are those times he and I used to get each other into trouble, but were there for each other through thick and thin.

Please place Brian in your prayers to have him come home safely and quickly. Not only for me, but for his daughters and his wife.

Lil' brother...if you see this...I love you and I miss you. Please be safe and come home soon.