Four Days = Different Outlook

Hello everyone!

Today's post is brought to you buy Help For Heroes! The reason for this is that I've just spent the past four days in Wales (one night in Neath, and the other nights at Haverfordwest), for my little brother's homecoming parade. He's in the signal squadron, this was first active tour of duty (6 months) in Afghanistan and has had many a near miss through it. Those left at home have been climbing the walls as bad news from the area he was in was broadcast on the news, even though we knew should something have happened we'd be the first to know. The family environment was tense, returning home day after day was proving trying and the temptation to work long hours crept in. I'm pretty sure the family would have shattered if he had been away for longer, and that would just have been my mother driving us away with her dark moods.

Yesterday we got to see him march in the homecoming parade, it was raining, it was dank, the band were playing ABBA (my brother will now be forever named "Dancing Queen"), and there were so many people that eyes were in danger of becoming victims to umbrellas. But, we stood tall, we stood together, we clapped, we cheered, we cried. I shared my umbrella with a young lady and her small son, celebrating the safe return of husband and father. We were celebrating the safe return of son and brother. We all shared a common interest. Well all shared pride. Overwhelming pride for those returned safe. They halted, each approached by the mayor, each given their prized medals, and cheered further. As heroes deserve to be!

We met them all for a beer, we hugged my brother, losing all anxiety. We laughed, we joked, we heard tales of war.....and then something happened that tested my theory of no pure altruism. These young men had been fighting, risking their lives on a daily basis, home for merely a day or so. My brother introduced me to one of his colleagues, one of his friends, who proceeded to hand over £20 ...... sponsorship for my 10k run in May, "to help raise awareness". £20 for the Alzheimer's Society.

My first sponsor.