Independence Day

So, I sit here on the 4th of July, the day upon which we celebrate the birth of our nation, and miss my sailor.

He is in Guam now, headed to Diego Garcia for a year. I had a pretty good day.... got an e-mail from The Hubster, went to church and cried (so many reasons that is okay), had a great brunch with the family, visited with a favored Uncle, and went to the beach... now, the beach was special today.

Today the Air Force sent a C-17 down South Carolina's coast to film us for the troops. They flew from Myrtle Beach to Hilton Head.... they waggled their wings and flew at 50 feet..... very close to the water. About 5 minutes before they got to us our section of the beach stood up and faced toward the North East... we were all waiting patiently. The first we saw was just a little black dot, but we could hear the roar from dow the beach and it grew louder - the roar of people whistling and yelling was a bit louder than the plane.

It was amazing, this feeling of being surrounded by patriots, people who support the troops, people who in some small way, waving and whistling on the beach, honored our service members. It was awesome. It was awe inspiring. It definitely brought tears to my eyes.

Every lonely night, every day we are apart, every missed phone call, every agony I personally go through to support my sailor, it is all worth it. What he does is more than worthwhile - it is something that has to be done. The men and women who volunteer to this and the families that support them -well, the beach thing might have been fun for some, a lark for others, and just something to do for yet others, but to us, it meant more than you will ever know.

Thanks South Carolina and all other states that did something special for the troops today. Happy Independence Day.