The El Paso Experience

This experience has been a few weeks in the making. While I've known for awhile that my youngest sister was deploying to Iraq, it wasn't until the early part of July that I had plans to visit El Paso prior to her departure. I purchased a reasonably priced one-way ticket and patiently waited until the end of July arrived.

If I had a chance to do all of this over again, I feel certain I wouldn't have chosen to leave on a Wednesday to visit. The work week felt all out of whack with me beginning the week and ending the week in a two-day span. I hate leaving work feeling like I'm leaving behind incomplete tasks. I guess it's the Achiever in me that feels unfulfilled because of that. The two day period was filled with some great conversations with students, some goodbyes to an intern and an amazing administrative assistant, as well as some hello's to new Residence Life staff.

I approached Wednesday with some added sleep and a purpose to run errands. Said errands had run a bit late. My flight was out of the Northwest Florida Regional Airport, housed at Eglin Air Force base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Knowing that I had a 2.5 hour ride ahead of me, I originally planned to leave town at noon, since my flight left at 3:07. I didn't pick up my rental until 12:45 PM. Therein lies issue #1.

So I race to my apartment to pick up my carry-on bag and begin leaving town. As I'm driving down Capital Circle I realize that I don't have my cell-phone charger (wall nor the 2 car chargers I've already purchased on the previous 2 trips). I quickly suck it up and tell myself that I'll have to buy another car charger once I get to El Paso. Time was of the essence.

My GPS told me that I had 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to my intended destination. That wouldn't work because it put me well-within the 30 minute time frame needed to have arrived at my gate. So I drove faster than usual and at times well over my 10-over comfort window. There may have been a time or two where I hit near 100 on I-10 in hopes I could shave some time and make it to the airport. As 2:45 passed, I was 5-10 minutes away from the airport, and I had all but given up on any chance I would make it on my flight in time. I arrived at the airport at 3:00, turned in my rental car keys, and headed straight for security. A glimmer of hope arrived when I heard the last call message and my last name was included in the list. I had just one incredibly slow person in front of me, but I could see my gate just 20 or so feet in front of me. Just my luck as I head through security, I get selected for a pat down. Granted, they only patted down my pockets because of my cargo shorts, but alas, it added extra time. I rushed to grab my stuff, and as I get away from security I see a FAA personnel person stating that it looked like me and two other people were no shows. I quickly state that I'm here, and she quickly ushered me onto the plane. Just when I thought I would be looking at a much later departure to El Paso, I make it on my plane.

As is the tale some times with lay overs, few of them tend to leave on time. Now, it's been my luck that I've only had two issues with a layover in the past (one on a trip to San Francisco & one on a trip to Fayetteville) and each managed to resolve itself. The same happened here. A flight that was originally scheduled to leave at 7 PM did not leave until almost 9 PM. So I sat for awhile, played on my computer, bought a crossword puzzle book, and listened to whining kids for two plus hours. The best birth control in the world. I did finally leave Houston a little before 9 and made my way to El Paso.

Upon first glance (at night), El Paso seems very flat. I remarked to my sister that it reminded me a lot of central and southern Florida in those regards. She laughed and remarked that there were mountains in the background and that I'd see them at daylight. And so I did. If I could use one word to describe El Paso, it would be arid. There is a lot of open flat space and a lot of dirt. It's just dry. I shared with my sister that if I moved here from the Southeast, I would get depressed at the lack of grass in the area. I saw a few yards that actually had grass, and my sister was quick to share that it had to be fake or at least shipped in. I think I could stomach fake grass just to have it. In regards to the heat, it was as hot as it is in Tallahassee at this time of year without the humidity. So instead of feeling like I needed a towel to wipe my brow every few seconds, I'd worry that I need suntan lotion if I stayed out in the sun for too long.

As a part of my trip here, my sister showed me around her post at Fort Bliss. In regards to military posts, I've only visited Fort Jackson (Columbia), Fort Gordon (Augusta), and Lakeland Air Force Base (San Antonio). Each one felt reasonably large for its size. Respectable. Fort Bliss blows all of them away in sheer surface area. This was the first time I seriously felt that a military post could function as a city unto itself. My sister gave me a driving tour just to demonstrate its size, and I had an opportunity to visit the PX as well.

While I had come to El Paso to see my sister before she deploys as well as pick up her car, I also helped her move her stuff out of her apartment. Let's just say a lot of energy was used letting my sister know how messy she is as well as helping her arrange her mess. There were some interesting times in moving a large queen mattress on the top of a Honda Accord with nothing but vinyl straps. I'm thankful her storage unit was next door to her apartment complex. Any further and I would have freaked. At the end of this day, the majority of her apartment is clear (at least of all the heavy stuff) so hopefully her last full day here will be a breeze. As for me, I have a 23-hour drive (plus whatever time I take to stop) to entertain me for the next two days. I welcome the challenge as my one goal for tomorrow is to get out of Texas.

Considering the conditions for which I made this trip, it's hard for me to grasp how in less than 48 hours, my youngest sister will be on her way to Iraq. It's a bit mind-boggling, and I don't know exactly how to feel about it. While I know some of the usual emotions are sadness, fear, and sometimes anger (the 'Why so-and-so?' effect) but I'm not really feeling any of those emotions. Logically, I understand that she will miss out on some big moments that are coming: the birth of our nephew Adrian and the marriage of one of our older brothers. Both will be amazing milestones in our family and she will have to wait anywhere from 6 months to a year to return home to see the impact of those moments.

However, since 2002, my family has managed my siblings being away from home. With me to college in 2002, my youngest brother in 2004, and then the girls in 2005 and 2006, we've been constantly doing our own thing. However, we've always kept in touch and never let distance get in our way of staying close. For example, today my sister and I reminisced on the times we had with our great-grandmother and talked about things that reminded us of her (e.g., peanut brittle, Nilla Wafers, knowing exactly what she would be doing at 11 AM during the week [watching The Price is Right], joining her for a simple breakfast that only she could make). That conversation is a perfect example of why I'm not worried about my sister's upcoming departure. Even though I know she will have an experience many of us may not be able to relate to, but that's life. I'm involved in a field none of my siblings will choose to call a vocation; all of us are pursuing a life that has called us in different directions. Yet we have not let those different directions change our relationships with each other. I feel confident that my crazy little sister who we used to call "Viola the swamp" and who I would rag on for attending Mercer will do herself proud with her experience in Iraq. She is confident in who she is and her place in our family. So while I want her to be as safe as possible, I also see the opportunities for growth embedded in this experience. Plus, she knows that if she comes back acting a fool, that she has a family full of folks who will set her straight ;-).