Last night after New Horizons disbanded, I went to say my final goodbye to my son-in-law, Jake Hailey. He left for the army this morning. I feel so much pride for this guy. He’s smart, caring, brave … the list goes on and on. For now, he’s leaving behind my daughter Meghan and their two girls. In the next 6 months he will be at 4 different bases until he finally arrives at Fort Bragg near the first of the year. Because of this, they decided Meg and the girls should stay here until the end of the next school year. I feel the loss myself, but more importantly, I feel my girls’ pain.
In trying to not make this all about me and my family, my heart just goes out to all of the military families out there. Probably several of you or your families have gone through something similar. My niece and her husband spent 3 of their married years on totally different naval bases. When they finally got stationed together in Guam, a year later he was deployed to Afghanistan. But none of this even compares to the possibility of these soldiers losing their lives. Unfortunately this hits home to so many. My uncle Paul died at 18 years old at Anzio in WWII. Carrie Cunningham’s brother, Ron, died in Viet Nam. I’m sure that there are other members who have gone through this as well.
My point is that when it doesn’t involve us I don’t feel we can truly appreciate the sacrifices these men make. That their families make. I’ve been guilty of this myself. With the hovering possibility of WWIII, I am not crazy about the fact that Jake’s entrance into the service is now. I’m sure thousands of families are in the same boat. So I’m just asking that when we are watching the news about Russia and the Ukraine that we not become desensitized. The Ukraine’s people and their soldiers are suffering. I feel like the US and other countries are walking on eggshells trying not to let WWIII happen but it may at some point happen.
Growing up I was always in Memorial Day parades and Veteran’s Day parades. I did not have a clue how important it was to remember what our men had been through. Now that this is up in my face, I understand. God, please be with the Ukraine’s soldiers and their families. Please be with our boys and their families. And selfishly I must add, please keep Jake safe.