Happy Veteran's Day!

As a child of a [large] military family, I love Veteran's Day!! My dad, step-dad, and step-mom are all Marine Corps veterans. My uncle and two grandfathers are Army veterans. I still vividly remember my step-dad coming home from his last deployment while we were living in Hawaii.  It was the middle of the night; we were all crammed into the car, drove to the air field on the other side of the base, and waited with all of our friends for the grey-green plane to descend from the sky. That was the hardest part...waiting to see the plane. But, when we finally saw it, we all wept and screamed with excitement!  But first, we had to find him, lol! When you have a couple hundred people who look the same and are dressed the same, it becomes the most exhilirating "Where's Waldo" search of your life! And then, we found him...running to us...and the rest of the world melted away! No one who has not been through this experience will ever be able to understand the relief and flood of emotion when you see YOUR loved one emerge from a massive military plane, dressed in head-to-toe camo, rifle on back, and know they are home. Finally. Home.  And safe.

I am so proud of my family and all of the other veterans out there. Because of you, WE ARE FREE!

And to top it off, it's also my mom's birthday!!! LOVE YOU, MOM!!! XOXOXO