As I've mentioned before, my dad served in the military. Still is serving, just in a different capacity from being Active Duty. He was deployed a lot - like more than is usual for someone in the service. Honestly, it felt like he was deployed my whole childhood. He'd be gone for months, come back for a few weeks, and then he'd be gone again. It was hard for the first couple of weeks but eventually I got used to it - this was just a standard part of being a military brat. I don't think my mom ever got used to it. I remember her always being very distant during those long absences. Now that I'm older, I think I understand what it means to really miss someone like how the song describes....
When you want to be around someone all the time, that you'd do anything to see them for just a couple minutes. And when that's not possible, you keep yourself as busy as you can - but even then, they're still hanging out at the back of your mind, no matter what you do. When you stop for a minute and the loneliness closes in, you find yourself talking to them in your head, which makes you feel a little crazy but it's also comforting. Besides, you're just trying to remember things you want to tell them when you are together. When you'd rather stay awake than go to sleep, because you can't guarantee you'll have dreams about them. As someone who has tried and failed miserably at lucid dreaming, it's easier to just stay awake. That sounds really crazy, but I imagine a lot of people understand this feeling. Most people, I would hope. It's not so terrible....once you get used to it. But then there are those moments when it gets tough - like when you're listening to "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" on repeat, for example - but you just have to deal with it because there's nothing you can do. Sorry, I got deep "into my feelings" as my immediate supervisor likes to say.
Moving on....I know true love exists because of my parents. You don't go through the kind of hell they've been through unless you love someone a lot. Many military couples don't make it, especially after the spouse leaves the military. It's stressful, even if you're not deployed all the time. I kind of wish my mom had been more active in the spouses' groups on base - I think she would've been less lonely. I participated in some of that stuff before I left my parents' house for good. It's a great support system, especially now that there's more focus on supporting military families (there really wasn't that much back in the 90s - at least, I don't remember it).
I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure
Alright, let's address the elephant in the room - this song was the big song that came out of the movie "Armageddon." Does anyone really believe it would be easier to train a bunch of oil drillers to be astronauts then to just train astronauts on how to use a drill?! Is that seriously a realistic scenario? Do you know how many years astronauts have to train before they're sent into space? I just looked it up - Astronauts train for two-fucking-years before they even go on a training mission. Before that, they need a degree in engineering or some other super difficult bullshit, three years of professional experience, and/or 1,000 hours of pilot in-command time of a jet aircraft. We wouldn't send Joe Blow into space to save the world - we'd all fucking die. Also, Liv Tyler is an Immortal - it was confirmed because she hasn't aged a day since this movie was made. There's a reason they cast her as Arwen.
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Video
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