BOOOOO

I get a call last night from my little brother, Pete, also known as, Uncle Marine. Sweet, I thought, I always LOVE hearing from him. His voice was somewhat monotone, I immediately thought, NO, where is he going??? He said that in 19 days, they're shipping him, and I think 125 other marines, to Haiti. 2 thoughts immediately ran through my head, the 1st was, NO, I thought he wasn't supposed to go anywhere for 18 months once he arrived in Camp Lejeune (he arrived there the beginning of Nov), the 2nd thought was, well at least it's not a combat zone, however, i'm not really sure what it's like over there to be quite honest. I know that he's a Marine and that it's wonderful that he'll be helping the people in Haiti, who have lost so much in the past month and a half. But at the same time, I'm being selfish and thinking, but he's going to be gone for 4 months (he's going till July) and we won't be able to see him at all, and will probably have very little communication with him. He'll miss Mya's 1st birthday, that makes me so sad. When I think of Mya's 1st birthday I think of all the people who I want to be there and OF COURSE, my little brother is at the top of the list. It's been a hard year with him being gone. He missed Mya's birth, he missed all of the HUGE milestones in her first year. When he's home, it's hard to share him, because he's got a girlfriend, and he's got a ton of friends that we've got to share his time with. I know how hard that is being that I went to school out of state. When I came home for a long weekend all I wanted to do was hang out with Ryan. Now I see it from the other side, being the sister and ya know, not being the top priority. I totally understand what that's like now. And I understand if we only get a quick, 30 minute visit, I totally appreciate that 30 minute visit and would take that above no visit at all, ANY DAY! When he came to see us this past weekend, it was so sweet seeing him interact with Mya. Mya may not see him (in person) that often, but I truly think she knows who he is. I show her pictures of him all the time, saying, here's Uncle Marine (or Uncle Ooh-rah, very rarely is he Uncle Pete), he's serving out country, YAYYY, and she gets all excited! When he comes to visit, she gets excited, she smiles, she claps for him, it's sweet. All I know is that once this damn 4 year gig is up, they'll have a TON of catching up to do!!!!! I know that it's only 3 more years, but damn, I MISS YA BROTHA!!!!