Today's the first day in more than a week that I haven't felt like I was on the verge of tears all day. There've been a few moments when I thought I could cry, but none that have left me scrambling for a tissue.
I reconnected with a woman I did a story on last year around this time. Her name is Jocelyn and she lost her husband, Brian, in the war in Iraq. She's 28 years old now and has been a widow for several years already. I remember thinking to myself a year ago when I interviewed her that I'd never be able to understand what she's been through. How things can change in a year. While I didn't lose my love on a battlefield in a foreign country, I did lose him on the battlefield of science and medicine. He died fighting an enemy just as evil as the insurgents in Iraq.
Other than the way they died, there is one profound difference in the deaths of these two great men. I was able to be there by Jason's bedside when he took his final breath. I was able to shower him with love, affection, and assurance that we would all be ok after he'd gone. Jocelyn wasn't given that opportunity. She didn't find out about Brian's death until many hours after it had happened. But I question whether I got the better side of that or not. Is it better to have been there, to have witnessed it? I sent her an email this afternoon to ask her that question. I'm very interested to hear her point of view.
Here's the story I produced about her and the group she helped start. It's called The American Widow Project. They are our country's forgotten heroes...fighting the war on terror from home.
In other non-related news...it looks like my brother and I will be co-owners of a new (to us) boat! We'll be taking it for the weekend to try it out and see how we like it. If all goes well, we'll be boat owners by Monday! I'm extremely excited about this, and very much looking forward to some awesome times on the lake for the rest of the summer.
Until next time...
Stuart
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