The Jets

Our house is in the flight path.  F-16s.  I can hear them long before I can see them.  My heart races, pride swells.  Memories come flooding back.  I will mourn the silence.
I don't remember jets flying over when I was growing up.  I feel like we would have all raced outside to see them if they had.  I feel like I would have remembered that sound.
I dont' even remember the first time I heard jets.  The first memory I have of military aircraft in association with my life was the night Danny left for Saudi Arabia.  He was actually going to 29 Palms, but the end goal was Saudi Arabia.  That night it was helicopters.  I hope that I never forget the sound and the feel of the thuwmp thuwmp thuwmp.  I associate that sound with growing up.  Prior to that night, Danny and I were still playing grown up games.  But that night, the shit just got real. 
I remember jets in Germany.  I don't think they were our jets.  They would come in low and rattle the windows.  The dog would bark, the kids would rush to try and see them.  It was always that challenge to know where to look based on where the sound came from. 
When we moved to our house in West Des Moines, I quickly figured out that there was going to be a lot of plane traffic overhead.  The UPS and FedEx planes come in just to the east of our house.  In the summer, they block the sun for just a moment.  I don't really notice the commercial flights that come over, they aren't usually directly overhead.  But the jets, they come in right over the house, two by two.  It is like a military Noah's Ark.  I have gotten pretty good at knowing where to look and can usually spot them before they have completely gone over the house. 
When Danny came home from Iraq, the jets escorted their plane.   I remember being out at the airport and getting handed a pair of earplugs.   We didn't know that the jets were coming in with their plane.  I can tell you that it was quite amazing. 
I know that the jets are going away.  I will miss them in so many ways.  I will miss the rumble of my windows.  I will miss the way they block the sun for just a moment.  I will miss the way that Harlow looks up but never times it right. 
I understand budget cuts.  But it doesn't make it any better.  And I know that a lot of people will be glad to see them go because they live near the airport and blah, blah, blah.  I won't be glad.  The jets make my pride swell.  They keep me in touch with the military life that I loved so much.  They remind me of those out there that are keeping watch.