Pre MOB

The anticipation of MOB has finally came to an end and it is here.  The leave packet at work is in, the name badge turned in, the apartment has been condensed and organized, cell phone set to turn off, credit cards paid off, bills set to auto pay, important papers put in important places, caretaker found for the car, cars registration and insurance renewed, and the girlfriend has a pretty ring to keep her company.

In the weeks leading up to MOB it was interesting and sometimes frustrating to hear the opinions of the people around me regarding the upcoming deployment.  One night I even met a girl that flipped out when she heard I didn't have some elaborate plan to spend the final days exclusively with my girlfriend coupled with extravagant activities (my family are in IL so they weren't around).  She even went as far to say that she has known a couple of Marine couples that were married when they deployed and the one that went "all out" for his wife when he left was still with his wife, and the one that didn't ended up getting a divorce.  As if that was that couples only issue I'm sure.  You may ask yourself where I found someone like this.... Laguna!!  It was interesting to see how worked up other couples that were close to us would get when thinking about our situation and putting themselves in it.  They would even get to the point that they would fight over the way their significant other vocalized they would handle the situation.

The weekend we left was tricky.  After the first day on active duty, packing our bags up at the armory, I could feel the frustration of how inefficient our day had been.  This frustration coupled with the anxiety of what was to come the next couple days was building.  This looming cloud could be felt in the car as my girlfriend and I travel to Chart House for one last nice meal before I go; this caused a short, snappy atmosphere to conduct conversation in that eventually diminished as the thought of the next few days were disguised with drinks and fine dining.

The morning we left you could see in the soldier's faces the anxiety lurking in the back of everyone's mind, it wasn't fear, it wasn't necessarily sadness, but the realization that it was all for real now, our time had come and everything in our "day to day" lives were about to change.