How long can you hold your breath?

My friends and I used to play all kinds of games at the neighborhood pool. We would have "tea parties" underwater as our hair floated around our faces and we poured each other's drinks. I know I could sometimes do three backwards somersaults, but my foreword somersaults were always crooked because I had to plug my nose or I would swallow water. I loved playing follow the leader off of the diving board. I will never forget the times I completely smacked my stomach, trying to do a swan dive.


My kids spent many summers, diving for pennies at the bottom of the pool, playing "Marco Polo," and "Sharks and Minnows" at the Lake Shore Pool in Erie, Pennsylvania. Some of their best childhood memories are either of times in the water, or ordering something sweet, salty or greasy from the snack bar.


I spent yesterday at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. My son-in-law is a Marine. He is on his way overseas. Along with over 1,000 of his peers, he will represent our country in an effort that he hopes will make our world a better place. I am not a very political person. I don't look at this as a foreign policy issue. This is my daughter's sweetheart and my very good friends' son. He takes my kids to Dairy Queen and knows just the right time to crack a joke or offer a hug. He is everything anyone could ever want in a son-in-law. I am going to miss having him around for the next seven months.


Yesterday, I caught myself doing something I did 35 years ago at Sizerville pool on sunny summer days with my childhood friends. I was holding my breath. I think a lot of the people in the parking lot, in and around the barracks, and under the trees in the common areas were holding their breath. I kept thinking "Just how long can I hold my breath like this?" Certainly, 7 months will be a long time for me, for Anna, for all of those parents, spouses, children, friends and family to hold their breath. But that seems to me what if feels like a little bit.


The Marines I saw yesterday were so much like many other 18, 20, 26, and 32 year olds living here at home. They have families who love them, they like to have some fun, and they are thinking about what they plan to do with the rest of their lives. They might not want to be away from America for seven months, but they have trained hard to prepare for their duties overseas. They know they might not have too many showers. They won't be texting their friends or logging on to Facebook. They won't be eating home cooked meals or hitting the snooze buttons on their alarms for an extra 30 minutes of sleep. They will spend a lot of time, thinking about what really matters to them and looking forward to enjoying the things that make their life in America so worth coming home to.


In seven months, most of the same people will be gathering around to welcome our marines home. Parents may be grayer. A few Marines will meet their babies for the first time. Refrigerators will be stocked with favorite foods. Beds will be made and flags will be flying. Anna hopes to have her apartment furnished and decorated for a great summer with the love of her life. Brad's parents will probably be throwing more than one party to welcome our hero home. That will definitely be worth seven months of holding my breath!!!