I was standing out on patrol the other day when I looked over and saw some small children outside their house staring at us.  They weren’t doing the normal abrasive “Gimme! Gimme!” that most of the children do so I went to the truck and got a soccer ball for them.  One of the guys in the truck and I headed down there and gave them the ball and went back to our corner.  A few minutes later I was up on a balcony overlooking the neighborhood and I looked down into their yard.  The kids, both girls and boys, were all playing with the soccer ball.  They were kicking it around, chasing it and laughing.  An older man (I assume their father) came from the side of the house and picked up the ball.  He looked at it for a moment, then kicked it across the yard and began playing with the children.  He was holding up the toddler and one of the kids would roll the ball towards him and he would swing the toddler so that he kicked the ball back.  Everyone had smiles, and it looked as though they were having a good time.

As I sat there watching, I couldn’t help but feel a little lonely and jealous of them.  My thoughts turned towards home.  Here I am half a world away from my family.  I should be playing catch with my daughter and having barbecues.  Instead I am holding an M-4 and fighting in a war.  I just stood there and watched them all play for awhile feeling that familiar melancholy inside.  Soon enough duty called and I had to treat an Iraqi with the squirts.  By the time I got back to my balcony, the fun had ended.  The father was in his yard lifting some kind of freezer unit onto a table, the toddlers had all disappeared inside, and the older children had wandered back to their chores or back to bugging another truck for toys.

In the end, no matter what the differences in culture, we all just want to raise our families and live in happiness.  However, I am here fighting in this family’s backyard. Neither of us can be happy, or raise our families in safety.  All because some people who don’t really care about anyone else want to destroy the lives of others.  I hope this all ends soon, so I can enjoy my family, leave these people to their lives, and know that I have secured a safe future for theirs and mine.

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