Living with an OIF Veteren

[angelak]

Living with an OIF Veteren
OIF. Operation Iraqi Freedom.
(Do I scoff at the title? Someone thought it was clever.)
I have had a few experiences that are pretty eye opening. Most people are too busy living their daily lives to think about what that is. Not that this is a bad thing...

3AM a car backfires in the neighborhood.
I'm quickly being instructed to get down behind the edge of the bed.
I live in a moment of reliving someone else's reality.
Loud booms really never become the same if you've lived in a combat zone, I think.

Do I question whether he is telling the VA the truth about PTSD? No. Not so much.
Being energetically sensitive and getting a direct feed of PTSD is pretty intense. Just saying.
Heart rate speeding, muscle tensing, mind alerting.

Even at home, safety feels different when they come home.

All the same -
He thanks me for trusting him and listening to him, even at 3AM and it's a car backfiring in the neighborhood.

-Angela