Monday, May 31, 2010

Freedom Has A Price

As you wake up today, please take some time and remind yourself that today is not about the extra sleep you will get, the paid day off of work, the sales you will find shopping, or the bbq's and beer you may find yourself consuming. Instead, take the time and remember the sole purpose of it and the ones that have died for your freedom. The lives that have been lost for you to have the extra sleep, shopping sales, paid day off of work, bbq's, beer and whatever else you may do. Remember the ones that have laid their lives on the line and paid the ultimate sacrifice for you to live in a country that has the freedoms. Keep in mind that we don't have the fear of men being drafted because people sign up on their own free will. Men and woman sign their names away to the government, to branches of the military to continue this fight for our country. Freedom really isn't free. So many people have paid the price. While you are now taking the time to remember them, also take that time to think of the spouses, children, parents, families, and friends that have been directly affected and left behind. The ones that choose to live this life out of standing beside the ones they love. The spouses and children that could not imagine their lives any other way, but to follow wherever the military sends us. Their past and their futures have been taken from them, and yet they stand proud of the one they had to lay to rest. The ones that on this day will face an emotion just as they do everyday that the vast majority of us will never understand or know.

Say a prayer for the safe return of the ones still overseas unselfishly serving our country. Say a prayer for their families that await their safe return. That live with their cell phone always beside them, waiting for that chance to just hear their voice. The simple, "I'm okays" and "I love you's" go such a long ways following the time we kiss our loved ones goodbye and patiently await their return home to us.

Say a prayer for the families that will start a normal day only to be faced with the dreaded knock on their front door that their spouse or child is not coming home because they sacrificed it all.

Not only have the ones that paid the price with their lives sacrificed, but so have the ones that remain on the homefront. Coming from a proud army wife, freedom is far from free. We live on sacrifices and prayers in order to get us by. We lean on each other, forming a bond between Army wives...or rather, military wives, that most will never know. Today is a day for everyone to pray and remember the ultimate sacrifices people have made to ensure our freedom. There are no words that could show my gratitude for the ones that have laid thie lives down for our country, for the ones who will in the future, and for the ones who go out everyday unaware and uncertain of the unknown.

To all the ones we have lost, to the ones Kevin has served beside, or the ones we have known growing up, you will NEVER be forgotten and always cherished! There are too many to try to list on here, and I don't want to list any without listing them all. This is a battle we all face everyday, one that at the end of the day we are proud of. As an Army wife, I could never explain to you the pride that arises when I see my husband in uniform or the tears that flow when I hear the National Anthem or God Bless the USA... To the families that have also paid the price with your loved one, you too will never be forgotten!
Happy Memorial Day. Please be careful today while you are out doing
whatever it is you may do. Next time you see a Vet, no matter what
their age, shake their hand and just say "thanks". Afterall, they were
one of the lucky ones that made it back home alive. They will never
show their pride or think of themselves as heroes. But to all of,
past, present, and future, they are our true American Heroes. Oh, and
don't forget that military family who also serves. They tend to go
unnoticed. They too go through more than most know. And, unless you
walk a day in the shoes of someone that has been off to war, sent
someone they love off to war, or fought in any way to keep our country
safe, you will probably never understand the sacrifices that are made
daily.

Sent from Britt's iPhone

No comments:

Post a Comment