I always say thank you to our troops at the airport. . .

So. . . I have definitely NOT kept up daily blog posts.  Are you surprised?  My gratitude has not needed as much elaboration as I thought, and honestly a few days it was kind of hard to find something different to be thankful for.  Not that I wasn't thankful, I just couldn't find an angle worth gushing about on here.

Today, however, I jumped ahead of my pre-planned gratitude.  I was going to wait until Veteran's Day to gush about my patriotic thanks for our nation's military, but between the Marine Corps birthday and video footage of LSU's tribute to our veterans ("Taps" makes me teary eyed!) I couldn't help it, I had to say it today.

I suppose that's a pretty cliche thing to be thankful for (I would hope that everyone would understand and be grateful for the sacrifices of a volunteer military like no other) but it's something I feel is deeply rooted in my heart.  I grew up in a community anchored by a large Army base, as the granddaughter of a retired sergeant. I spent my fair share of time on base in my early years.  My grandfather was very sick and had many appointments on base, eventually having to be hospitalized in San Antonio.  My grandmother worked at the Child Development Center, where I went to pre-school.  There were also many shopping trips at the PX and the Commisary.  From an early age I was taught about the daily flag ritual and that you ALWAYS stopped and put your hand over your heart during the national anthem.  My grandmother taught me patriotic songs and even after she passed on, I continued spending time on base visiting friends from school and work who lived in military housing.

In my adult life, I have many friends who joined the military or are married into the military, not just in the Army but in pretty much every branch.  The gratitude and pride I have for those who serve and the families who support them only grows stronger.