Just Believe

Daniel came home Sunday. After almost three weeks of chow hall food and MREs, he was ready for his favorite restaurant (Texas Roadhouse if you're wondering) and since it meant I wouldn't have to cook, I was all for it. So we went in. It was close to 3 pm so they weren't busy at all. Daniel was still in his ACU's. (for those not 100% familar with all the military acronyms, ACU = Army Combat Uniform. The ones that have a digital pixel-ish look to them.) When we were leaving, I heard a little boy say "whoa Mama, look at him!" as he pointed to Daniel. He and I both noticed several other people smile or nod in his direction. I was so proud of him. Usually, he comes home from drills and the first thing he does is change clothes, and he only wears the ACUs when he's at drill or other official things. Sunday was the first time in a long time that I can remember being with him out somewhere where he was in the full uniform. It felt really nice to know people were acknowledging what he does based on what he was wearing.

The last couple of days, he has been telling me some of what they did during this training. He mentioned being qualified on his weapon. I guess logically deep down I knew he would have a weapon and that he would need to train with it, and that once he goes overseas he'll have to use it. But I guess I hadn't thought too much about it. But hearing him talk about it brought it to the front. While he's there, he will not only have a weapon but he will actually have to use it. And that thought scares the hell out of me. I know I just need to believe that he's had the best training possible, believe in other people he's there with, believe that God will keep him safe. I just need to remind myself every so often to "just believe".