Off to War Read Online Free PDF Page B

regular life.
    I didn’t know anything about Afghanistan before Dad went over there, but I found out a lot since, such as how poor it is and how hard most of the people have to struggle to get by. I wanted to do something to help.
    My dad sent an email to my mom saying that the Afghan kids were asking for pens and pencils and paper, and that gaveme the idea to get people here to donate school supplies that could be sent over. I got the word around, and lots of people donated. We had a lot of pickups, a lot of boxes. I broke my knee doing it! We had just picked up and dropped off a carload of school supplies, and I turned to run back to the car so we could pick up some more, and I slipped and hit my knee. I was in a cast for awhile, but I mend fast. The military helped us get the supplies over to Afghanistan.
    Dad was able to keep in touch with us a bit while he was gone. We emailed him about just ordinary things, like my fish, which he bought me before he left. He bought me four goldfish. They were doing okay until I put another fish in with them that killed them all.
    Dad sent Mom pictures and a video from Afghanistan, and she put them all together on DVDs, with music. Sometimes it’s funny, because she says we need to laugh. Like, there’s Julie Andrews singing “My Favorite Things,” while soldiers are uncoiling razor wire, flying helicopters, kicking in doors, pictures of big fields of marijuana. Stuff like that.
    He also sent her pictures of the base. It’s pretty rough living. Not what we’re used to here. She made the DVD for the padres to show to the newbies and reservists going over to Afghanistan for the first time so they can see what they’re getting into.
    Dad was in the military for two years before he met Mom. He likes it because he says it gives him a higher sense of purpose, and he takes pride in his country. He feels proud, too, for going through all the difficulties in Afghanistan. I think he also likes being on the edge and surviving danger.
    When he came home on leave, my mom went to pick him up. They had promised me a dog, so they picked the dog up at the same time. I loved that dog so much! It was like a gift from Dad that made it so special. Well, my dog tried to attack mybrother’s dog — my brother has a working dog, a Jack Russell terrier — because he has special needs. We tried to fix the problem. I was really attached to that dog because my dad gave him to me and Dad had gone to Afghanistan. We tried for a year, but we had to get rid of it.
    We were living in Winnipeg when Dad first left for Afghanistan, but by the time he came home on leave, Mom had moved us to where we are now, just on the outside of CFB Shilo. There’s more room out here, and it’s quieter. Off base, we get a bigger house and a bigger yard, but all my friends are on base, so I have quite a walk to go to see them. I go to school on the base.
    In Winnipeg we were surrounded by the civilian world. Civilian kids don’t understand anything. When I stayed away from school they called me Skipper. They didn’t understand it was because my dad was gone and I was too sad to go to school. I felt sick a lot, too, when he was gone — worried and nervous. I couldn’t concentrate on school work even when I went to school.
    I don’t go to any of the groups on base for kids of deployed parents. Some kids like to talk about it and some kids want to just live their life and try to keep thinking about it for when it’s really needed, so it doesn’t bother them. I’m the kind who keeps it away. My friends and I do go to the teen center on base to watch movies or play pool or cards, or just hang out after school.
    Deep in the forest around the base they have field training, and we can hear a lot of bombs and guns. I’ve gotten used to it. It was freaky at first. We didn’t hear that sort of thing in Winnipeg. One morning we saw a lot of soldiers loading a