YES!

Saturday, April 01, 2006

YES!

Outside the office

With his office mates

While receiving the souvenir...Kartal...Ooooooo

Together with officemates

Never say its over till its over. and YES!! it is O.V.E.R!!!
Halil is DEFiniteLY verY HaPPy that the militaRY SErvice is O.V.E.R

A year ago, I cried at the airport when we sent him off to izmir for his 3 months heavy military training.And now I rejoice in happiness as the ordeal of halil's compulsory military service is finally over.

Remember after halil graduated from his Ph.D, after we came back from Malaysia when it all began? A day before all of us were to go to Kayseri for Kerim's engagement party, 2 (soldiers) asker came knocking at our door asking where halil was..and that they were going to take halil pronto to the military service? Remember how I vomitted on the bus all the way to kayseri because the truth was I was so stressed out over halil's must- go service? Remember how baba tried to find ways..to convince halil to postpone his military service...For over 2.5 years..yes. it was postponed...with that evil smily shadow lurking behind every step we made because we knew that one day halil would have to go. With 2 kids, how would I cope?? The kids were away from their dad,relatives,their natural habitat for 2 months when we were in Malaysia (halil joined us there later) and they had terrible psychological effects...They barely recovered from those effects..will they reoccur again?? those thoughts came rushing thru my mind..Scared?who wouldnt?


Yet, we could not postponed it no more. This compulsary military service would not go away. Let it be done and over with. Then, we could go on with our lives....free from that evil shadow. Yes. The place was set. 3 months in izmir for the intensive training. izmir is like 800 km from istanbul.Lucky me, my sister who just graduated from her diploma programme agreed to stay with us for 2.5 months.One day after halil left for izmir, she reached istanbul. Her presence somehow gave me things to do and limited my emotion turmoil that it was somehow under control. At least I stopped crying at home.


Remember how halim had to drive us in the middle of the night with so many big trucks along the way to izmir for halil's toren? Remember how selim had to drive us the second time to izmir so that simah and her kids could see her husband? Remember how funda and ozlem had to endure the weekend without the husbands to help looking after the kids because the husbands were bringing simah n kids to izmir? Remember how I insisted to go to izmir on the last visit before halil's graduation by bus because iclal was in the hospital and nobody could drive us there?Remember how I was mugged on that last visit? bicakli bir adam ..what an experience..Remember how I used to send my grocery lists to kerim via hand phone and poor kerim had to carry all those things? And mistik..remember how he had to visit the post office at least 3 times a week to post those colourful envelope letters for halil in izmir? How halil was envied by the other asker because his strings of letters never fail to come...and mese...everytime the kids are sick, I kept calling her till one day she said..*sizden biktim artik* .... she was right of course.. I could not stop calling her..one minute..meseee.the other minute...meseeeeeeeeee...I was panicked. kusura bakma mese.Until halil's absence, he was the one dealing with the medicine.I was an emotional wreck in those days..

I realise I had burdened many people in those days. And yet, everybody still stood by me for the kid's sake.I have not forgotten your sacrifices and time and energy. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Sizin hakkiniz helal olsun.

For halil to be away from home was never easy of course. He had never been away from his family. He has this close knit-relationship with his family.He has lived all his life being surrounded by them-siblings and family, aunties, cousins etc. He has to at least talk to one of them everyday on the phone even to say hi.. And to be far away from his beloved kids. To fight with hatice...to squeeze baddin on the bed....and not being able to do that must be the hardest of all. He was lucky coz the life condition over there was good. Halil and I even got to chat on the net many times!! Still asker life is asker life. Never easy especially if you are the family man type.

Of course the best part of the whole thing was when halil called me and told me that he got first place out of all the exams in the intensive training. The best in training astegmen ogrencisi. It meant that he could choose the place he desired to go after izmir!!!! He was coming home!!He chose alemdag in istanbul. The airforce. He was stationed in the *maliye bolumu* -where they deal with numbers,claims,etc..office type job. He went to work early in the mornings, came home during the evenings and slept and slept during the weekends. What a way to do your military service!! He came home from izmir as physically fit as can be. He had managed to shed the fat on the tummy that I was jelous...really really jelous. After he came back to istanbul and until now..today .and the military service is over..the size of his belly shows the *hardship* of him serving the army!! And despite general beliefs... I HAVE GOT NOTHiNG TO DO WiTH iT!!!..I did not sabotaj him... he did it himself....being halil and all *hugs tem*

Excercise TEM!!! excercise!!!!
Let me join you too...My condition is no better than yours *chuckles*

ELVEDA, 15 Fuze Ussu!