Letter to my Son, Part II

Dear David,
I realize that you are too young to read this and understand it, but I know that one day you will be old enough to read it, and hopefully, wise enough to understand it. Every day I wake up, I look at a picture of you, I have seven of them hanging in my room in a picture frame, haphazardly arranged. I have a picture of you when you were a month old, the birth announcements that we had made up for Christmas. There is a picture of me awkwardly holding you, me dressed up in my uniform, you in a one piece getup that looks mildly ridiculous, but not quite as ridiculous as the way I am holding you, in a type of offering. I see you on Skype, your chubby cheeks so reminiscent of mine, calling me "Dada" then beginning to suck on your toes. I miss these moments, due to my own fault, but I hope you do not hold this against me. I do this not for myself, but for love of country. For the faith that maybe, one day, Afghanistan can be something more than it is. I do it out of duty, duty to my fellow brothers-in-arms. But there is yet one love, one duty that I have neglected. You. For this, I apologize, for I know that when I get home, you will be but a little over a year old. You will never know that I was gone, except for what I tell you. You will never know the things I have done, the places I have been, the stories I have to tell. Except for those I tell you. What innocence I see in your eyes, and I long for that same innocence. I long to be as pure and innocent as you, but I cannot. I long to hold you and whisper my secrets into your ear, knowing you won't tell anyone, that they will be between you and I, but, alas, I cannot. One day, soon, I will hold you in my arms and profess my deepest love for you. I will see the undeniable love in your eyes, the sheer trust, the faithfulness you have in me to provide for you. But do not be mistaken. Do not trust me, do not have faith in me. The most important lesson I can teach you is this: trust in your fellow man, have faith in him, but do not put all of your faith and trust in any one man. Have faith and trust for mankind. The most important contract you will ever make will be one of a handshake, not one signed with a pen. Your word is all you have, keep it, and people will give you their all, break it, and they will take all. But, as in the last letter, remember, Faith, Hope and Love are still the greatest.

Love,
Your Dad
(from Afghanistan)