Day 12... I know I probably should have used yesterday to be thankful for Veterans... but I decided to take today to express my deep love and appreciation for the Veterans of our country. I couldn't find a picture of my dad to put on here... but I thought this one of my nephew was adorable! 
I have always had an incredibly patriotic heart... makes sense being that my entire life growing up was that of a "Navy Brat". (I hate that term... I was just as adorable and respectful then as I am now!) I was the kid standing on the pier waiting for my dad to come off of the aircraft carrier after 6 months or more at sea. I was the 8 year old whose dad served on an intelligence island in the middle of the Indian Ocean for a year... and this was before email... so we had to wait weeks for letters and paychecks to arrive. A kid in my 3rd grade class told me that he saw a news report that my dad had been killed... and I had to wait for several weeks for a response to my letter from him letting me know he was fine. I still have that letter. He was only able to call once during the entire year and it was "patched" through the Red Cross. My whole world revolved around the military and my dad's service. We moved at least once a year my entire life and I can tell you where we lived based on what grade I was in. As a result of all that moving... and we ALWAYS drove... I have been to every state except North Dakota. I went to kindergarten in Taiwan... at the American school and had a teacher named Mrs. Wong. I always cry when I see reunions of military men and women and their families on the news after they return from being deployed. It's familiar and brings all of those feelings back. I was always so proud of my dad and loved his uniforms. He served 3 tours in Vietnam and suffers to this day with PTSD as a result of those years. He and my mom still shop at Hill Air Force base every 2 weeks for groceries... and they live in Santaquin... just so they can be around the military they love so much. (They claim to save a ton by grocery shopping there... but with gas at almost $4 a gallon we know the truth! They just love being saluted when they drive in the gate! : ) (Love you mom!!!!)
My brother Brent served in the Navy as well... and Dan was attending the Air Force Academy when we met. He had been enlisted and served in Germany during Desert Storm and then was accepted to attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He decided not to stay in the Air Force, but he appreciates the lessons he learned and the leadership skills he fine-tuned while serving. I will always appreciate the sacrifices of those who serve... and the families that sacrifice so much... to keep our country strong. I love the United States of America!!! I love and appreciate all of our Veterans and those who have died for each of us. God Bless the USA!!!
1 comment:
That was really awesome! I loved reliving your memories and had dad come downstairs to i could read him your blog. That meant so much to him! I think, even though it was hard sometimes, that we all loved our military days, the pride we had for dad, the uniform, and the remarkable experiences we had and the places we got to see and live!
Yes, we do love going to HAFB to shop and be around the military. They often use security guards at the gates so we don't get saluted then but when the military guys are guarding the gates...yes, we appreciate that crisp salute! :-)
Love you Steph and what you had to say!
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