>lil bro joins the military
>has 2 weeks leave, comes home
>we all sit down and have dinner one day
>tells his stories - what's it like being in the military, the shenanigans, the camaraderie, the stress
>says sometimes he can't handle the stress
>i tell him "don't worry, you'll be fine!"
>he answers "you don't know what it's like, you've never left home"
almost lost it but i calmed myself down real quick

maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing, but i realize now that most people never really *see* the sacrifices and the pain and the grief, huh?