Memorial Day and Welcome to June

I've had a busy week with my trip to St. Louis, work trip to Chicago, seeing family and friends, and driving 12 hours each way so I'm a little late in posting this.. I still want to share a neat note I received from Drew's boss regarding Memorial Day. I am so proud of our soldier!!
"As Memorial Day approaches, I just wanted to take a moment to talk about soldiers, both past and present. These days, only 1% of the population chooses to be in the military. Of those that do, they endure year long deployments (sometimes back to back) to austere conditions and their families have to put so much on hold while they wait back at home for them. Neither side is easy, but soldiers and their families have been getting through it for years now. Memorial Day is a time to say thank you and to remember those who are no longer with us. It takes an incredible love of country and belief in one's self to be a soldier. It's a great honor to lead such men as the Barbarians, and I thank them, as well as their families, from the bottom of my heart for their service."
Drew has had a little more down time to himself this week because his roommate is on midtour leave. Even with having the room to himself, Drew continues to be busy. As a team leader, the guys constantly demand his time. In a 20 minute phone conversation, the door is usually knocked on every five minutes. :) Tomorrow they have a PT test for the guys that did not pass the first time. Drew is hoping everyone passes so he can begin running and eating on his own. If you'll remember, they have had to do everything as a group since some guys failed but Drew passed. He thinks he is getting out of shape with the new routine because he is more disciplined when he has the time to do his own workout.
Another thing that is new is the heat. It is about 125 degrees there and he can feel it! Drew told me to hold my blow dryer in my face and that is what it feels like all day long. It was after ten last night and he was still waiting for it to cool down before he showered. GEEZ! He said it is draining but he is doing well. The checkpoints continue along with some neat missions where they are giving back to Iraq and supporting the community. We are happy it is already June! It was hard to head home this morning but it was eased by the idea that my parents will be here in 3 1/2 weeks. Having something to look forward to always helps. We all always have something to look forward to with him coming home safely. :)