Desire to Serve

My brother-in-law is in the Army, he is First Sergeant Richard Tufts, I admire him, I am proud to call him family I wish that in the past I had taken the opportunity to really talk to him. In the time when I met Rick I had no desire to serve my country, I wish now that I was a different person then. I wish that when my sister married him that I could have been the person that I am now and maybe paid better attention. Had that been the case maybe I would have chosen to serve when I was in a capacity to.

I wish that I knew ten years ago the things that I know now. I would have been a different person then and I would have chosen a different path. I now wish that I could serve my fellow man in a different manner. Over the past year I have had the opportunity to truly get to know two citizen soldiers- both EMS providers, both men who have chosen to serve their country. And I can truly say that I admire the both of them. One is currently serving in his capacity as an Army flight medic in Iraq. The other is to be deployed in September of this year. Despite the danger, despite the risks of enlisting during a time of war and a time of unrest in the world I wish that I could enlist. Had I known ten years ago that I would one day have a desire to serve my nation I would have done it. Today I am out of shape and in no condition to serve in the military and so I continue to serve my fellow man by being an EMS provider. I am a paramedic. I go to work every day to care for others and to serve the public in the manner that I have chosen and I shall do this day in and day out until I find another way to serve. When I finished paramedic school I figured that I had a good five years in which I would work in this capacity before I grew restless and now as those five years are almost up I am finding myself looking for a greater challenge. I wish I knew what that challenge might be instead of spending my days wondering what I can do next.

My bad-ass brother-in-law

This article ran in the Denver Post the other day as a profile of my brother-in-law, 1st Sergeant Rick Tufts. Recently when a friend asked "Does it make you feel good when someone tells you 'Thank you' or does it matter?"
Rick looked him in the eye and said "It's my job, its just a job. I do this so my son won't have to. You don't have to thank me."

1st Sgt. Tufts is a local boy turned decorated soldier who is soon to return to Iraq for the third time. It isn't something that he wants to do, but like he says its part of his job. Despite it being part of the job I know it kills him to be away from his family- Rick is the type of man who would do anything for his wife & son. Over the years my sister has adapted from the role of soldier's wife and now to the role of 1st Sergeant's wife and she and the rest of her & Rick's extended family couldn't be prouder of his accomplishments.