This time it's personal

I disagreed all along with sending our troops into Iraq. Now my 20-year-old cousin is there, an Air Force ground vehicle mechanic working for the Army, helping uparmor convoy and patrol Humvees against IEDs. She'll be flown from base to base all around Iraq, but will not spend any time in Baghdad.

I was the last member of our family to see her before she left on Tuesday. I think I may have cracked a couple of her ribs when I hugged her goodbye. I'm really looking forward to hugging her hello in February. More than she knows, most likely.