To Serve and Protect

While our vacation was very relaxing, we ended up having a very busy weekend that's left me feeling just as tired and run-down as I was before we went away!

On Saturday we were in a miniature bowling competition with a bunch of my aunts and uncles...it was so fun! I've never done anything like that before but it turns out I'm a good mini-bowler! We played three games (teams) and I ended up with a 260, a 248 and a 198. The last game wasn't so good, but it was still fun. Nancy, my aunt's partner, ended up bowling a perfect 300 game!

After bowling we went home for an hour or two then headed to my brother/sister-in-law's house for a going away party for our nephew Troy who left for Basic Training yesterday. They had a corn roast and the younger nieces and nephews went swimming. It was great to catch up with everyone again, but there was a sadness about it in knowing that everything is changing with Troy leaving. On a bright note, my other nephew Craig - who is stationed with the Army in Afghanistan - was able to email home and send some pictures.

When Mark and I were ready to leave the party I gave Troy a big hug and told him to promise me that he'd stay safe. He told me not to cry and asked me to take care of our Godson Jade while he's gone. I barely made it to the car before I started bawling. Troy and I have gotten very close over the years - I'm going to miss our little talks so much!

After we got home, I sent him a Facebook message telling him that even though I broke my end of the deal (crying) he'd better not break his (staying safe.) He messaged back, which was wonderful. I miss him so much already. The good news is, he'll be back from Basic in six weeks. The bad news is he'll be around for a short time (a few weeks) and then he'll get his placement and be gone for however long, only able to come home for holidays every now and then.

Don't get me wrong, I am so very proud of both my servicemen nephews...it's just so hard to watch them go. I know that without the willingness of thousands of young men and women to protect and serve our country I cannot even imagine where we'd be. Both Troy and Craig believe so much in what they're doing - the work and service they are doing for our country.

It kills me to hear people spouting anger and resentment against the War, our President, or the American Troops fighting for our country. Reality: Supporting the troops means supporting the War. The service men and women in the Army, Air Force, Navy etc. truly believe in the cause and know they are doing what's best for the safety of our country. Saying that the war is pointless or whatever, is a slap in the face to our soldiers. Yes, I pray for peace but I also pray that our country will continue to have the foresight to help other countries in need. It's so important to our future.

Anyway, suffice it to say I'm very proud of my nephews and miss them terribly.

Yesterday we went to a local parade and party and spent a lot of time in the sun. Don't worry, we wore lots of sunscreen. It was a very long, exhausting weekend and it was very, very hard to get up for work this morning! We've got another busy week coming up - we're going to a Timber Rattlers game on Tuesday (box seats thru Mark's work), and Wednesday I'm going with my dad to donate blood, Thursday is my mom's birthday so we're going to run to Appleton for shopping/lunch/movie (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants II), and Friday night/Saturday morning is the Relay for Life Cancer Walk! Through fundraisers, our team has tallied more than $850! On Saturday, there's a Gospel Festival in a nearby village that my mom and I always go to and on Sunday Mark has his work golf outing and my aunts are having a party at their house. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about all we're going to be doing. Oh well...we'd better take advantage - summer is almost over!!

Hope everyone has a very sunny day!