Spent a lot of....

....time thinking today. Shayne is gone for this holiday and although we watch the news coverage and say a few silent prayers, we don't do anything monumental for Memorial Day. For our family, we are lucky enough to have our parents and grandparents alive who fought in past wars, but for many people in this country they do not. Today when I was thinking about the history of Memorial Day and the significance of this day to our country, tons of stuff crosses my mind.

As so many men and women are away from their families today (Shayne included) I find my mind to wondering to not only the past as I BELIEVE it should, but to all of them still fighting for our country. Agree or disagree with the direction of our country and the wars we are currently in, that doesn't allow us to FORGET about those BRAVE men and women, or to IGNORE their needs when they get home. It's often said in online banter back an forth that "if you don't agree/support our troops, then get in front of them" well in anger I can actually UNDERSTAND this comment. But here's the twist to why I BELIEVE in our military, no matter how angry people are, or how condemning to them they are when these men and women return home, these BRAVE men and women would NEVER let anyone take their place, much less get in FRONT of them. That's one of the greatest examples of why AMERICA (in all the good and bad) is truly the best country in which to live.

I have a brother-in-law who has been to Iraq three times, and the second time he went, his wife was upset at the hideous comments she heard about the troops and the war. So in one of their phone calls she told him about it, and how repulsed she was. Wanna know what he said or do you already know? He said "honey this is what I am fighting for, so that [people] like them can have their opinions, even if I think they are wrong." So, the next time we want to say something mean, degrading, condescending, or just plain STUPID, lets remember that these men, women, and their families are willing to die for you, and have in years past. So lets agree to disagree about the wars all we want, but lets take a moment as often as we can to CELEBRATE these people and give them our THANKS.