Remember to Honor

As I go about my daily activities on this 3-day weekend, I find myself pausing often, to appreciate all of the freedoms and progress I am allowed to enjoy, thanks to the heroes of our country. While my family does not have a long lineage of military soldiers--I do have an uncle who is a veteran(Thanks, Uncle Joey)--we do have a soldier of our own kind. Before I start rambling about our soldier, I want to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to all of the men and women, along with their families, who serve our country. Those who are willing to lay down their life so I can attend church in public, so my husband can earn a living for our family, so our kids can choose their own path and that I can express my thoughts, freely, on this website. For most of us, "the war", is something that happened, but to those linked to the military, the war is something that is happening. For those military families, the fight to keep our country the land of the free, the war has been the very center of their worlds for the last 8 years. Training, boot camp, deployments, leaves, re-deployment, re-enlistments...for those families, this war has dictated how they live their lives on a daily basis. From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you to those that I know personally, have served, are serving or will serve our country: Willie, Adriana, Telvin, Will, Chris, Brett, Mark, Joe, Joey, Joe Jr., Casey, Kelly, Christina, Phillip, Tim, Gib, Heather...you all have a purple heart in my book.

Now, onto a soldier of a different kind. I am one of the fortunate ones, as I had the privilege of growing up with a soldier and a hero from whom I learned many valuable life lessons. I learned compassion, sacrifice, courage, strength, love, hope, faith, determination, trust and respect. My soldier fought the battle of humanity. My soldier, literally, fought for life and for the life of others. No matter the question, the answer was always-'if I am going to help someone else, then yes'. No matter how painful a process-"if this will spare someone else pain-yes". No matter the risk-"if this will help you advance in your field-yes".

My soldier endured two very risky operations in a time when they were a rarity. My soldier dealt with side affects of numerous drugs. My soldier dealt with the stigma that comes with a sterile environment. My soldier dealt with the endless testing that came along with the experimental procedure that extended her life. My soldier made sacrifices so others would not have to. My soldier fearlessly navigated the waters of the medical field. My soldier was just 12 years old when recruited. There was no boot camp. There was no basic training. There was no conditioning. This soldier went directly from the ball field to the battlefield. My soldier made the ultimate sacrifice. My soldier died so that others may live. My soldier was my sister, Lori. Each time I hear of a successful organ transplant in a child, I smile and say a prayer--thanking Lori for giving that child a second chance at growing up.

To borrow a phrase from my favorite Army Wife-
'Always remember to NEVER forget"...no matter what war your soldier fought.

With a grateful heart,
CeeKay