13 February 2008: 27 days and counting

Although we are extremely busy, the clock seems to have slowed to a crawl. Twenty seven days doesn't seem like much - and it isn't when compared to the deployment as a whole. It's strange that the time feels like such a drag right now. This is what happens every deployment. The days fly by until the end is near. Remember what it was like as a little kid counting the days down until Christmas? I do. I had a "25 days of candy canes" decoration on the wall. It was shaped like a Christmas tree. Every day I would untie a candy cane from the tree. Then at night I'd stare at the thing. It seemed like there were so many candy canes left to go. Ultimately, it would boil down to the final night. Christmas Eve would be the longest day (and night) of my entire year. Well... counting the days down to redeployment is bringing back those memories. Each successive day seems slower than the one before. Every time I look at the calender there are a lot of days left in the month. Thank god my team is busy. Our workload gives us less time to think about how slowly the home stretch seems to pass. We are all beyond ready to go home.

If only I had a "27 days of Yuengling" decoration to help me out. Ok, that's not going to happen. However, 27 days until my next beer is a wonderful - almost lustful - thought. Now, hurry up days! Home is calling.