I cross the threshold of my front door and am overwhelmed by the presence of human life that I am about to encounter. Within the first five seconds of my entry, I brace myself for the strength of my two kids and their powerful embraces. I cannot even express the warm feeling that the touch of human beings brings to my heart, even though I know my kids do not view this moment as anything more than another hug from their dad. My wife stands behind my kids smiling from ear to ear. I could feel her excitement through the intense and emotional eye contact we make.
I think that’s one of the things I miss most while I am at work. Real human interaction is non-existent at my job. The only interactions I experience at work are with technological machines and digital military personnel. These technological machines and networks are not known or comparable to anything in the human world, yet serve as the foundation of my job.
I walk over to my wife and give her a huge hug and release a deep sigh of relief to be in my home with family. Next, I quickly run upstairs to change out of my work clothes and clean myself off for family supper.
As I walk down the stairs I have to stop for a second to take in the fumes of my wife’s incredible rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. My wife, two kids and I all gather around our table to enjoy supper together.
After we eat, my son and daughter run over to our neighbors houses to ask if they are ready for our evening activities. My kids come back and report that everyone is done eating, so we all meet out at the neighborhood courtyard. I can’t help but smile at the sight of all the neighborhood kids running around and playing games with each other without a worry in the world. I engage in multiple conversations with the parents. We all talk about each other’s days, how the kids did in school, how work was, what the weather is like and other pleasant topics.
Soon enough the sun begins to disappear, signaling everyone to start heading back inside to prepare for the next day. My wife and I help the kids into their pajamas and read them a story before going to bed.
As my wife and I are getting ready for bed, she asks me about how my day at the office was. Since she believes I work at the post office, I tell her that it was another busy day sorting through the abundance of letters. I get a sick feeling in my stomach every time I feed my wife more lies about my work life, however I am willing to do so if it means that the rest of the world does not have to experience war or any sort of military conflict.
I wake up at 4 am the next morning and prepare for work as silently as possibly so I do not wake my wife or kids. I grab a banana and yogurt from the fridge and hustle to my car to beat the early commute traffic. I drive for about 15 minutes on the highway and then get off at exit 73. This exit leads to a very remote area, filled with mostly forest, and a very small population. I drive on backroads surrounded by trees for about 5 minutes and then I arrive at the secret entrance to my work.
