May we all remember that our freedoms are not free, but come with great sacrifice. Hold these freedoms near and dear, and never forget how precious they are.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Alive Day!
Happy Alive Day to my husband, J.R.
May we all remember that our freedoms are not free, but come with great sacrifice. Hold these freedoms near and dear, and never forget how precious they are.
May we all remember that our freedoms are not free, but come with great sacrifice. Hold these freedoms near and dear, and never forget how precious they are.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Iraq - Over for Some, but Not Over for All
For many families in this fine country, today is a happy day. Our troops are coming home from Iraq.
Operation Iraqi Freedom has been controversial. Whether you agree with the war or not and whether you believe we have won or lost does not matter. What matters is that for many of our families this war will never be over.
Our family is one of thousands that will forever be changed because of this war.
This upcoming Monday, December 19, marks my husband's fifth Alive Day. This day marks the day in which our lives were forever changed, and he lived to tell the tale.
J.R. was injured by a roadside bomb. His hand was blown off. Too graphic for you? Good. That's what war is - graphic.
This event sent us down a dark path. A path that thousands have traveled before us, and thousands will travel after us. We are not alone in our struggles, and while there is comfort in connecting with other Wounded Families, it does not always make the path any easier to walk. In fact, there were times when the darkness was all encompassing and walking the path blind was entirely impossible. When that happened, we crawled; groping our way uphill.
While our marriage has not always been as beautiful as the pictures in the many news articles have led you to believe, we dug deep and crawled home together.
Even after five years there are difficult moments. There are days when I just want to hold my husband's hand. Or nights when I wish he could find peace and sleep calmly.
I tell you of these struggles not because I want your sympathy, or your pity. I tell you of these struggles because I want you to remember - no, I NEED you to remember - that the war will never be over. Not for my family. Not for the families of many.
So the next time you see a Veteran, thank them for serving.
Operation Iraqi Freedom has been controversial. Whether you agree with the war or not and whether you believe we have won or lost does not matter. What matters is that for many of our families this war will never be over.
Our family is one of thousands that will forever be changed because of this war.
This upcoming Monday, December 19, marks my husband's fifth Alive Day. This day marks the day in which our lives were forever changed, and he lived to tell the tale.
J.R. was injured by a roadside bomb. His hand was blown off. Too graphic for you? Good. That's what war is - graphic.
This event sent us down a dark path. A path that thousands have traveled before us, and thousands will travel after us. We are not alone in our struggles, and while there is comfort in connecting with other Wounded Families, it does not always make the path any easier to walk. In fact, there were times when the darkness was all encompassing and walking the path blind was entirely impossible. When that happened, we crawled; groping our way uphill.
While our marriage has not always been as beautiful as the pictures in the many news articles have led you to believe, we dug deep and crawled home together.
Even after five years there are difficult moments. There are days when I just want to hold my husband's hand. Or nights when I wish he could find peace and sleep calmly.
I tell you of these struggles not because I want your sympathy, or your pity. I tell you of these struggles because I want you to remember - no, I NEED you to remember - that the war will never be over. Not for my family. Not for the families of many.
So the next time you see a Veteran, thank them for serving.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Lies!
This image is from an excerpt of The 7 Dumbest Things Students Do When Cramming For Exams. I believe it to be false.
Highlighters are a fantastic tool for studying. I know this because there are a handful of highlighters sitting on my table right now, and clearly, I'm a genius.
Looks like the study nest of a master-mind, eh?
So Dear Luke Mckinney - please retract your statement about my highlighted notes looking like My Little Pony in Drag.
Clearly, they look more like Lisa Frank threw up on my data set.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
December - The Blurry Month
Dear December,
I have decided you are a lying, cheating, trick playing month, and we are no longer friends. Why, you ask? Because there is simply no way that your days have 24 hours.
Today is December 6th. Where did the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th go? They are nothing but a blur - proof that your days go by on fast forward.
Is this a test? Are you laughing at me as I flail around miserably in a pathetic attempt to complete everything? Finals are killing me, and don't even get me started on Christmas. I once again haven't done any Christmas shopping yet. I know you're secretly laughing as I begin to panic about not having time to enter stores until two days before Christmas. It's not funny.
With everything going on in my world, plus the news that yet another loved one in my life passed away in the morning hours of today, I have decided that you, December, are just not working out for me. I will be hibernating through the rest of this month.
January - I expect a better performance from you.
Love,
Josie
I have decided you are a lying, cheating, trick playing month, and we are no longer friends. Why, you ask? Because there is simply no way that your days have 24 hours.
Today is December 6th. Where did the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th go? They are nothing but a blur - proof that your days go by on fast forward.
Is this a test? Are you laughing at me as I flail around miserably in a pathetic attempt to complete everything? Finals are killing me, and don't even get me started on Christmas. I once again haven't done any Christmas shopping yet. I know you're secretly laughing as I begin to panic about not having time to enter stores until two days before Christmas. It's not funny.
With everything going on in my world, plus the news that yet another loved one in my life passed away in the morning hours of today, I have decided that you, December, are just not working out for me. I will be hibernating through the rest of this month.
January - I expect a better performance from you.
Love,
Josie
Monday, December 5, 2011
Comfort
A Parable of Immortality
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch until at last she hangs
like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says,
" There she goes! "
Gone where?
Gone from my sight . . . that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the place of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment
when someone at my side says,
" There she goes! "
there are other eyes watching her coming . . .
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout . . .
" Here she comes! "
~Henry Van Dyke
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch until at last she hangs
like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says,
" There she goes! "
Gone where?
Gone from my sight . . . that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the place of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment
when someone at my side says,
" There she goes! "
there are other eyes watching her coming . . .
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout . . .
" Here she comes! "
~Henry Van Dyke
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
