God Bless You Art

Amber works every Saturday night, so when Taylor was scheduled to have a Daisy meet at the Excaliber gym to earn a patch, I knew I would be taking her. This time Grandpa came with too. I've been having a problem with my back that makes walking painful lately so he came to take the pictures. I had assumed that Excaliber was like a regular gym, with bleachers for the parents to sit on. This gym was different. There were no bleachers. It was a giant room divided into 8 gymnastic courses. There were about about 100 children and they were divided into teams by their dens. There was a small windowed room where the kids left their shoes and socks and parents not participating, would sit in to watch. There were alot more parents than chairs so the room was very crowded.

Grandpa took the camera, and started taking pictures right away. I sat in the little room, watching and hoping he would not embaress Taylor too much. There were a few faces of parents I had seen at some of the other Daisy meetings I had taken Taylor to, but I did not know anyone by name. I felt sort if out of place, being the only grandma. As I watched Taylor struggle trying to do a flip on the bars, I could over hear some of the conversations around me. A couple of the moms, were trying to recruit other moms to watch their kids while they went to look for a Starbucks. There were some stragglers coming in hurrying to find there den mothers to pay the fee to. Directly behind me were a mom and dad talking to their childrens den mother, about who to write the check out to. I could see them both in the reflection of the window in front of me. After they paid, the mom took their son and daughter into the gym, and the dad took a seat next to me.

I watched Taylor as she continued to work on the required moves, my mind went from one thought to another. I thought about how much she was like me. I was never very athletic and always pretty shy. I hoped she would grow out of her shyness soon. I was wondering about how I was going to pull off Christmas this year. Seems the more grandchildren I accumulate, the tighter my budget gets. My back was really hurting, and I wished I had been able to stay home. My 20yr old grandaughter Amy was home studying for her finals. She is a freshman in college, going for a nursing degree, and lives with us. I could be home helping her.

As I pondered all these things, I heard a mom behind me say " Hi Mr Sherman" " Mr Sherman, HELLO ". The man next to me turned around and said "oh hi. I didn't realize you were talking to me. I'm not used to Mr Sherman, call me Art." She responded with didn't you just get back? And he said yes last week. Another father asked how long were you gone? The man next to me answered 10 mos. Then the man behind me asked, Where were you stationed, and again the man next to me said Karbala Iraq. The man behind me told him welcome back. I heard myself saying God Bless You. A chill came over me, and for the first ime I looked at the face of the man sitting next to me. He was a handsome young man, tall, probably in his early thirties. His facial features had very defined, almost chisled look. His blonde hair sported a military cut, and he had brightest light blue eyes I had ever seen. The man behind me asked him, How long you back for? He answered: I'm hoping a year this time. I could have been sitting next to the President. I felt honored sitting next to this man, but also embarassed.

I've lived in Virginia Beach, off and on since 1986. It's a military town and it's where the Oceana Naval Air Station is based. A large percentage of our residents are military families. I'm not a very social person. I have always been a stick to home kind of person that would go to work or go shopping, and come back home. The only friends I ever made, were the elderly people I took care of. They have all passed on now. Since I no longer work, my world is my family, and the monthly trips to the grocery and dollar stores. I know most the clerks by name and we chat in the checkout, but thats about the extent of my socializing.

My husband and I watch alot of news. We keep up with the elections, the economy and the war in Iraq. We would watch about the departures and the homecomings of the ships, and hear about the deaths of our troops and I would say a prayer for them and their families. Now for the first time since the Iraq war started, It had even more meaning to me. This man sitting next to me, had just spent 10 months away from his family, to fight a war our Country was in. I looked out into the gym at his wife, daughter and son, and thought how it must have been for them not knowing if their husband and father would come home. I wondered how much this man had missed of his children growing up. I was grateful that this Christmas he would be home with them. While I felt honored sitting next to him, I began to feel uncomfortable also. I felt unworthy of him.

I told my husband it was to crowded in the room, my back was hurting and was going to sit in the car. I just wanted to be alone. How, at 55 could I live in the middle of a town , and be so disconnected from the people in it. How many people, wives, husbands and children have I passed in the stores or seen in a drs office, that have led the same kind of life as the man who had sat next to me? My husband came out to the car to check on me. When he asked if I was OK, I told him no. He thought I was talking about my back. I didn't tell him it was because I was so wrapped up in my own little world, with my own little problems, that I had forgotten that a big majority of people in this town had loved ones overseas, some of which would never make it back home. How many would spend the holidays away from each other, maybe for a second or third time. I thought about the fathers who haven't even seen their newborns yet. Some could be walking by the time they do.

I don't know how I will change. I do know that I will look at the faces I pass in the store. When I see a person in uniform, I'll feel more connected and appreciate them more whether fighting in Iraq or stationed here in the States. Thank You Art and God Bless you and all the other Arts out there, for taking time from your families and sacrificing your lives to protect our country.