Last night I was at karate with Vid when the soldier called to tell me he has a flat tire. He said he was at one city heading to another where he could get the tire fixed and he was in a hurry.

Not knowing I wasn’t home, he wanted me to find all possible stops (rest areas and the like) between the two cities because he was going to have to stop and inflate the leaking tire en route.

He went to tell me the rate at which the tire was leaking as he had calculated it precisely.  I am not sure what all he did but I can tell you when we got to work on this he was having me multiply the mileage by .571 to figure out how frequently he would need to stop… he’s a math guy.

He had some other things to manage but said he would call for the info so I left karate with Vid in class, went home and gathered the information then went back to karate with notes in my hand.

The soldier was in a position where he was going to have to drive overnight. This in spite of the traffic jam problem the night before that left him with 5 hours sleep.  Get it?

He got up yesterday with 5 hours sleep, was unloaded laid, dispatched late and now on this run with a flat tire and blah, blah.

The point I want to make is the soldier’s life is like this and I mean it is like this virtually everyday. I am telling you he does not get 2 days in a row where nothing happens to thwart him and it has been like this literally since the day he was born.  He was born with Saturn in aspect to Mars and Mercury, see?  This is why he had to go through boot camp 3 times AND be a ranger AND win the best soldier in the world before Special Forces would even look at him.  He had to wait 30 years to be with the woman he loves come to think of it but anyway,  as I scrambled to help him scramble which I do every day of my life now I recalled a conversation I had with satori some years ago.

I told her that the soldier’s life was like this, it always had been and always would be and I thought I’d better think about it real well before I jumped in. He’s specifically asked me to do this by the way. He made it abundantly clear he did not want another failed relationship so the situation was very clearly this: In for a penny, in for a pound.  After a month or maybe two of deliberating, I opted in and I have obviously not regretted this even though his life is brutal and I have to endure it with him on a daily basis.  But what hit me was the chore he was born with.

How do you talk someone into getting into this kind of boat with you?  Can you imagine?  There is an outrageous handicap here, it becomes very apparent very quickly. No one wants to get in the foxhole with him because they know if they do it will be punishing however some DO get in the foxhole with him and why is that?

I think it’s because he is so developed in so many ways. The worst of the war is coming to HIS foxhole, however he’s got the best jokes, he never whines, he never expects anyone to do anything he would not do himself, he never brings anyone around him down, makes them pay with his bad mood or otherwise burdens people. On the contrary he cheers and supports them and it occurred to me last night this is a classic case of hardship building character and if you value character then you are not going to hesitate to associate yourself with him.

Last night I wondered how he framed his handicap because he definitely knows he has one.  Does he realize he’s got one hell of a rickety boat he’s got to talk someone into sailing with him? I’d say he does.

In whatever case we get through these clunky blockaded days which occur may 6 days of every 7 and have as much fun as we can which brings me to another point.

I did take Henry’s truck to the store when I 10 years old and I bumped into some things on the way. HQ observed I am still doing the same thing on this blog and the one prior. He said, I went from here to there and here banging off the walls or various people and things so you can see an odd compatibility between us.  I mean, I can go from karate mom to fleet management to blog writer to counselor to gym rat, health nut, cook with very little wear or tear or fallout.

I realize this is long and rambling but I think it is interesting especially when you compare the soldier to someone who thinks that being associated with them is so nifty.

LOLOLOLOL ::snort::

Saturn in Libra.

Humility in relationship.