Care Packages

The life of a soldier, though surrounded by the comrades you hope you don’t have to die for can be a lonely, lonely existence. No matter who we are we have left someone behind – a mother, father, wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, children. There is a feeling like time is on hold here, at least for me, and that when I go home it will still be the Monday I left, maybe a few hours later. But time is an evil trickster and often it can also seem that it is double timing it through the deployment. Young children mature and go to college and marry. I sometimes feel that I am going to go home and see my grandkids.

One way to stay connected is via email and phone, but they lack the decided capability to fill your day with an actual physical presence from home. So frankly to me the best thing in the world is the care package. I have read many letters so far that are signed: To any Canadian Soldier, and you would not believe the impact on morale they have. For some person 4 to 94 to take the time to write us a letter to say thank you even for something that they may not completely understand is all the thanks I need. That and a Timmies coupon…

But when those packages arrive from friends and family the day takes on a whole new colour. You feel like, “wow they remembered me”; it feels like Christmas. Each package is met with excitement and anticipation, both from the receiver, and the ton of guys hanging around to see “wutcha got?”
And you end up surrounded it is inevitable. The joy of a care package is to be shared with your buddies. We gather to see who got what candy, or to see who got the latest Maxim or Stuff magazine, you know the ones chock full of hard hitting journalistic debates on the transient natures of conservative civil libertarianism, haha who am I kidding, it may be sad but true but seeing Jessica Alba in a skirt the size of a paper napkin can be the second best little bit of morale that a loved one can send. In the end there is nothing better than passing around a scented envelope, full of love and promise, which screams “REMEMBER ME? THIS IS WHAT I SMELL LIKE, REMEMBER?” I am being a bit facetious but ladies, women, darlings, we do remember, and we miss you, but we will tease the life out of each other regardless. And for clarity sake the contents always remain personal, and cherished. I recognize, as well, that I am writing this from a decidedly male point of view. But go with what you know, I really only know one female soldier well enough to comment, and she sent herself sweaters.

I had been waiting knowing I was going to receive something and then came a day that I got two packages, much to my surprise…as I opened my ‘gifts’ with excitement to find a Calculus text book in one envelope chock full of Timmies coupons, and also a package full of tea, candy and Tuna Filets. One of my soldiers looked at me with dead earnestness and said, “Calculus and Tuna? I don’t think you’re friends like you so much.”

True, I’m not a Tuna fan, but the remainder of candies and goodies, and teas was enough to completely fill my day. And seeing both things sitting on the desk was enough to make me feel like I was not that far from home. Then I chuckled and offered out the tuna.

So the tuna made someone else happy, and when I get tired of trying to understand the complexities of complex military and humanitarian operations in a sun blasted, war torn post repression state I will turn to calculus. Those of you who know my skills in math will know that I will quickly turn back to Islamic radicalism and think it a much easier set of quadratic derivatives to solve.