Thoughts Along the Way

Just a few minutes left in Erin's 22nd birthday. We've had a good holiday and celebration: A late breakfast at Susan's and then I grilled inch and a half T-bones for dinner. Stacy baked a birthday cake. And Erin got new tires. I guess when you're 22, you stop getting fun things and get what you need! We had a good day.

But tonight I also had a reminder of what holiday this was - Memorial Day. Tonight, ABC's Nightline broadcast was devoted to Ted Koppel reading the names and showing the pictures of the over 900 servicemen and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past year. I watched most of the broadcast - just names and pictures. Most of those who have died were no older than Erin.

It is so easy for us to hear the reports about the casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan and let them to in one ear and out the other. Nightline's broadcast helped to remind me that those names have faces and families. That those individuals are worthy of our respect and of being remembered - not just on Memorial Day, but on each day that we enjoy the freedoms that we have in the US. For most of us, Memorial Day is usually about hanging with the family, mowing the lawn, washing the cars. We should be thankful for reminders of those who have sacrificed for us - and of those who continue to sacrifice.