On this day...

It's the middle of the week. All the kids are out of school. Why? Because it's Veteran's Day.

I haven't thought about the folks that serve our armed forces as of late. There was a time when every day I was praying for someone that I loved that was serving our nation.

My father served 25 years in the Navy. My FIL served in the army as a medic in the Vietnam War. All but one of my FILs brothers also served in the Vietnam War. My BIL served 21 years in the Air Force. My older sister's BIL served 10 years in the Marines. Even my hubby served as an officer in the Navy for 9 years. Now my cousin (the only first cousin that I know) is in Japan because of his service in the Army.

Yes, a lot of the male members of my family haved served in the military.

When I was little, we used to pray for my Dad every night. He would go away quite often on the air craft carriers. This left my Mom to bring up us three girls alone. But we grew up to be strong girls. My Dad brought up in a strict environment...kind of like WE were enlisted into the military. We grew up with "Yes, Sir" and "No, Sir". We'd run home and find him if we heard him whistle down the street. He'd often wake us up on Saturday mornings whistling "Revele". Can you believe it? But we grew up respecting our elders and obeying the rules.

As time went on, my father had retired from the military. He got a civilian job. But this didn't stop us from being surrounded by the military. We lived in a military community. We attended the chapel on the military base. So there were uniforms around me throughout my years. Whenever there was a conflict in the world, we'd feel the repercussions in our neighborhood.

Then I met my husband. We were still dating when he went on his first deployment. We were married by the time his second deployment rolled around. His 1st deployment, the air craft carrier wasn't equiped with email service. We had to rely on snail mail. Luckily the ships had email by the 2nd deployment. The technology they have now. It's like your loved one isn't on the other side of the world! I can't imagine what it was like for the men who served in WWII or Korea or Vietnam. Sometimes mail wouldn't get through for months on end! The longest time I didn't hear from my hubs was 7 weeks. I kept myself busy when I didn't hear from him, but he was always in the shadows of my thoughts. The folks from the earlier wars really had to rely on the love in their hearts to get them through the rough times. That truly amazes and puts me in awe. It really does. How a single photo. A single letter. One book. Just something small would inspire these soldiers to continue on through the dark days.

You can safely say that I appreciate all the folks who serve in our military forces.

I appreciate the dedication that these men and women have to serve our country. I appreciate those who serve during times of peace and those who serve during times of conflict. I appreciate those who join during peacetime and don't complain when a conflict arises. You don't join the military for a paycheck and a free ride. I appreciate that these people realize their training means to protect our citizens. I am in awe of those people who join the military because they feel it's the right thing to do (like Pat Tillman). I appreciate the sacrifices the families of military personnel make when their loved ones are in training and are deployed.

Thank you to all those who are serving, those who have served, and those who have passed while serving this nation.

If you haven't heard it, take a listen to "American Soldier" by Toby Keith (link to song & lyrics). The video always make me teary & proud of our military.