Tired.

I wish that for one magic hour on a summer's evening, a weary nation would pause and reflect, and each man and woman would remember how the world once looked and smelled and felt and how nice it was to draw such supreme comfort and security by the simple act of putting one's hand into the hand of a father or mother.

--The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille

I like this quote. While written in a fiction book years ago, it certainly seems to fit now. I read it and I want to hold Naomi and Jonah's hands so bad that it hurts. I want to pick them up and squeeze them tightly and let them know that I love them and I hope and pray that they never have to leave home for months on end because of war. I don't know how this war will end. I hope that we will leave this country better than we found it. I hope that we, as a country, will have learned something about ourselves and our place in the world.

I will not digress into too much politics here, but here is something else that I hope we learn as a country (and this applies to almost any issue of the day: war, taxes, health care reform): I hope we can come to some sort of understanding that just because someone is from a different political party does not automatically mean that their opinions are wrong. If you work on the assumption that every word coming from opposite side of the political aisle is false or designed to harm America, then your natural response will be to get your hackles up and attack when they say something. I'm a radiologist. I make my living by discerning between a multitude of shades of gray on images. Guess what...that's what life and politics is like. Nothing is ever as black and white as the different political parties would have you believe. The fringes of the parties would have you believe that...but they are fringes for a reason. Unfortunately, it's the fringes that yell the loudest and get the most air time because sensationalism sells.

Politics and the incessant bickering that goes with it makes me tired. I get tired of how worked up people get about it. No one seems to get that worked up by the fact that we've been at war for over 8 years, 5400+ dead, thousands more injured. Yet, people would rather yell and scream about how the other political party is evil and anti-American and those are the more benign terms.

OK, I digressed into politics. But for me, that's not what is important. Here's what is important: I want to see my kids. I want to hear them giggle and laugh. I want to hold their hands. I want to hear our dog snore. I want to be a family again.