Memorial Day thoughts

So today is Memorial Day.  This year it has completely new meaning for me.  It was not until my husband joined the army that I started to grasp what it truly means.  To some it means no school.  To some it means BBQ and family time.  For me in one way, it is an easy way to remember when the pool opens here on post.  For us it is all these things, but this year in particular I am reminded of what it is for because it is personal.  I guess it always should have been .  I did have a cousin who lost his life in the Vietnam War but I was not even born when that happened and it was never really talked about nor do I know much about him.  I have seen a picture of him and all I knew is that he died in the war.  Today I remember SFC Clifford Beattie.  This year I can say I know somebody who sacrificed his life for our freedom.   news article on him  I am thankful for all those that sacrificed.  I am also thankful that my husband gets to come home soon.  This leads to slight "army wife guilt" because I know there are those, like Karen, who will not have that privilege.   I will be bittersweet today.  I will be more quiet and reflective than I normally am, I may even shed some more tears today as I still process this.  It is so unfair but war never is.  It would be nice if we could all work it out like kids in the sandbox but that is not reality.  The reality is that war is sometimes necessary.  You reading this may not agree with it or why we are there.  I don't like we are there.  I do however enjoy posting blogs, enjoy being able to express my opinion, enjoy being able to worship God without fear of death, enjoy wearing whatever clothes I feel like and not having to cover up every ounce of skin, and I enjoy that I get to call myself an American.   That is what soldiers are defending.  So pause today while doing what you are doing and be thankful for our military in what they do and have done, especially those who have lost their lives defending it.