When everything is changing you have nowhere else to run,

You take your pencil and your paper,

Your keyboard and computer,

Your keypad and your phone,

And you write.

You write that letter to your soldier,

You write that poem on how you feel,

You write because nobody can understand the words in your head,

Nobody will know if you never have it solidified on paper.

Now why do I write?
I write so my soldier knows I care,

I write so he knows I’m there.

And I write because every once in a while I’m feeling scared.

Alpha

Bravo

Charlie

Delta

Everything in my world is changing.

I say goodbye to the way things were

And hello to my place in the military as a

Husband,

Wife,

Brother,

Sister,

Aunt,

Uncle,

Son,

Daughter,

Soldier.

I myself am writing as a supporter.

I am the girlfriend waiting patiently for the day he comes back home.

I am the one who waits by the mailbox every Wednesday until my letter comes.

I am the one who cries when reading each letter signed "I love you, Peanut."

I am the girlfriend, I am the supporter and I, like you, am waiting for the day when I get to see his face again.

You are the mother writing.

The one who raised the strong young man who decided to join the Navy.

You are the one who waits for the letter that tells you he has found his calling.

You are the one who is waiting to make sure that you are there to tell him it is okay.

You are the mother that can no longer fight his battles because he is fighting ours.

You are the little sister writing.

You idolize that man who changed from jeans to a uniform.

You hold onto that teddy bear that he made you that tells you he loves and misses you every time you squeeze its hand.

You wear his shirts around the house even though they are too big just because they still smell like him.

You are the little sister that is turning 11 this year with presents and not his presense.

You, my darling, are the soldier writing me back.

You swapped your civilian clothing for camo's.

You traded in your necklace for dogtags.

You left your home for a boot camp.

You left your country to fight for it.

You, my darling, are the hero.

You are why I write.

You are why I write my poems, my letters, my diaries, my notes and everything I put my soul into.

I write for my soldier.