Thoughts on the Day

• It's really nice waking up to the whole family in the house.
• I'm really going to miss having the bed to myself.
• If it ain't raining, it ain't training!
• Flash-bang grenades are actually pretty cool when you're not in the room into which they're being tossed.
• Ricochets don't hurt as much as direct hits.  Not to say they don't hurt, just not as bad.
• The muzzle of a 12 gauge shotgun is amazingly huge when it is pointed at your face from across the room, with the owner taking up slack on the trigger, even when your brain is screaming "It's only loaded with wax shot!".
• It is amazing how compliant you become when said shotgun is pointed at you and the owner is screaming "Get on the ground!".
• Luckily, I wasn't the one who had his clothes cut off of him so the medics could practice treating wounds.  I had a pretty ugly head wound.
• Fake blood takes a lot of work to get off of your skin.  Baby wipes just make it so it's not drippy.  I can't wait to try to get it out of my clothes.
• Going into the Stop-n-Stab for a soda on the way home with your hands, clothes, and face dirty with mud and fake blood gets you some really interesting stares.
• Artillery simulators be loud.
• You know you've matured when you know better than to even ask if you can go out and get shot at for fun on the evening of Valentine's Day.
• I will always own a home with a fireplace.  Coming home, cleaning up, and lighting a fire made me feel a lot less old and cold.
• Having a wife who cares enough to have a pot of hot chili and a pan of cornbread waiting for you is worth her weight in diamonds.