American Flag

I hope this weekend finds all of you well and enjoying your holiday weekend. This is the week we celebrate Memorial Day in the United States. It is a time of remembering all of those men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.

It is also a time, at least in my mind, to stop and remember all of the folks who are currently serving. Some time ago, not too long after 9/11, I found myself looking for a way to do something to support our troops. It was during that time that I stumbled upon the Any Soldier website, and my life was never again the same. The site is a place where our troops sign up for being the contact person for a group and agreeing they will disperse care package items. I took on a few contacts from my state at the time. Soon my dining room began to look like a Wal-Mart store. Every time I went to the store, I picked up a few items for my packages. The needs vary so much from what folks ask for, from every day things we take for granted, to just simply letters from home. It is a way to remind them that they are not forgotten and that we care. Through this activity, I also met some great military bloggers. The entire experience gave me back so much more than I could have ever done for any of them. If you’re looking for a way to get involved and say you remember them, this is a great site to check out.

While our troops do need our support, I also believe there is an unsung heroes group in our military—the spouses and children. The spouses hold things together during deployments, becoming both parents, doing all of the things around the house, and all the while worrying about their spouse who is gone. It’s tough on kids as well. When you are saying your thanks this weekend, don’t forget to remember this group. I’ve just started working with a great organization that does support for spouses called Wings 4 Women. Check out their site as well if you have a minute. As someone who grew up in a military household, I am so glad there are things like this for spouses. My mother didn’t have that and I’m sure it would have helped her along that journey.

For me personally, this post today is simply to say thank you to our military, the ones serving directly as well as their families. I know we have military spouses on our blog here, so guys please pass on this thanks, for you and for your spouse. We have so much to be grateful for in our country and a big part of that is our freedom. Without the sacrifices you make every single day of your lives, we couldn’t say that. Thanks for all you do. For those who are deployed, may you have safety and soon return to your families and friends.

Have a wonderful weekend.