not Shushan Purim

Instead of being at Shul, I just read the Megillah (got to love the Internet) on my Mac. If I want major noise, I can turn the sound up.

As my friend Barbara mentioned – there is Purim, and then there is Shushan Purim (for those living inside a walled city). Now, I was living inside a walled city, but doubt that particular location existed in Biblical times.

What I was really more important to me today was the sense of choice and freedom. Not just to relax, sleep and read a bit, but to have the ability to choose “at what time” I wanted breakfast (as apposed to meeting the schedule of a DFAC).

To be able to wear civilian clothes, use a coffee mug at breakfast. Eat off a real plate (not a plate made of recycled paper) and hold flatware that is made of something other than plastic.

A bathroom with a door that shuts (not a curtain in front of the toilet), towels (not paper towels) hanging next to the sink. The ability to take a shower and not worry about strangers wandering in. A sleeping location that doesn’t lock with a padlock when I am not there and a deadbolt when I am.

Streets that have sidewalks. No clouds of dust when a vehicle passes. And, no rocks. There is pavement here rather than rocks and gravel.

It is not just Purim which is freedom. Redeployment qualifies as well.

-Holly
Heidelberg

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9 Responses to not Shushan Purim

  1. ruth says:

    Happiness is being home with all the lovely comforts of home.

  2. Alison says:

    Re? Or de-deployment?

    Welcome home!

  3. Lynne says:

    What.. no knitting?

  4. Mark says:

    Glad to know you are got home safely.

  5. Shep says:

    I can now truly identify (after my 2009-2010 year away from home).

    I did not complain about shoveling ice or snow or commuting (in my comfy, unarmoured POV) or any of the myriad annoyances that we kvetch about when in our civilized environments. We are so fortunate to be living in western civilization. Our countrymen who have not served or deployed really don’t know how blessed we are.

    Your comment about walking on rocks hit close to home – I damaged menisci in both knees from doing that (and that was in Kuwait, not humping a ruck in Afghanistan!).

    I wish you peace and all good things.

  6. Beverly says:

    I’m so pleased that you are home safe & sound after your deployment. It must feel very strange – not just being back in Germany and stepping into another world, but being on the brink of retirement.

    I have really appreciated your daily e-mails during your deployment. They served to keep me in touch with what so many people are doing out there. It would have been easy to get out of touch, sitting in a warm comfortable office in Edinburgh. There was such a mixture of experiences and emotions (for the reader as well as no doubt for the writer) – the obvious camaraderie, your chillingly calm account of coming under IDF, the account of the blankets covering the casualties that very nearly moved me to tears, your amazing patience with the frustrations of waiting for flights and your ability to do without sleep – I could go on. Thank you for sharing it all, and I’m so glad you’re safe.

  7. Tara says:

    It is the little things that make all the difference!
    Those bring the unexpected joys! 🙂
    Take care and be well.

  8. Diane says:

    Good morning and, again, welcome home! Breathing a great sign of relief that you are now safe and back home with your family.

  9. Bob says:

    But getting used to civilization again can have its drawbacks as well. Nonetheless, as your family must be we’re grateful to have you back.

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