Dear Jane: Being Grateful to Those Who Serve

Dear Jane: 

It has been some time since I've written to you.  It is not for lack of wanting to, I promise.  Sometimes, I find it hard to balance living life with you and daddy and writing about it. 

This morning, you and I said goodbye to daddy for the week.  He is heading up to Alexandria, LA with his LA Air National Guard unit.  For the next six days, they will practice all of the things they need to get right so that their mission can be successful.  It'll be hard work, and daddy is going to miss you so much, but he's proud to serve his country and the State of Louisiana. 

When most parents search to find childhood heroes for their children, you have one who lives with you every single day.  There is no greater hero than a man or woman who serves his or her country.  For four years, mommy and daddy were so lucky to live among these brave men and women in Beaufort, SC.  Knowing that they were entering the Marine Corps during a time of war, each week we would get to see these brave recruits come to Parris Island so that they could be made into a Marine.  Each and every time I entered the gates of PI, I was overcome by a sense of gratitude the likes of which I had never experienced before. 

Jane, one of the very reasons that daddy decided to join the guard was so that our children (you, now) would feel a similar sense of gratitude.  He wanted you to see that military service is of utmost importance.  He wanted you to understand that he was a part of something greater than himself so that you never take for granted the people who serve our country.

Today, while we will certainly miss daddy, we are also grateful for the job he and his fellow guardsmen are doing.  You and I have also talked (well, I talked and you sort of listened) about the fact we are so lucky that we will get to see daddy in just six short days.  There are so many military families who have to wait much longer than that to see their loved ones again.  To them, you and I are indebted.  We will pray for them each day and thank them every chance we can.  To them we owe our freedom...