When I was 5 years in, it clicked. I hadn't had much support growing up, but it was enough to survive, and I did graduate high school and attend college, the first in my family. But just barely. The point is, I was very used to doing without, and what were very hard times for others was just a bit rougher, for me.
When I hit my 5 years in the Navy, I could no longer see what it was I had seen that day on the Hudson, when I watched those buildings burn. Whatever it was that had motivated me to action had dissipated, and the rebellious naturally responsible, if anti-authoritarian in me had reemerged.
Everything you said, every word, is what I went through, except I don't have children. I finished my time at Balboa Hospital in San Diego, and those last two years were the hardest of the 7.
I know this was fiction, but damn if it wasn't spot on. I hope it helps someone.
thanks for the great reply.
Thanks for capturing that so vividly and accurately. Were you in?