Halloween held a special treat for us this year. Aside from the normal costumes, candy and spookiness, we were excited to welcome my sister's second-oldest son Kyle home for a short visit from the Air Force. He has been in Texas, where he recently completed Boot Camp. He will now be stationed in California where he is part of Security Forces (M.P.)
The girls and I drew up some signs, got some balloons and, thanks to a well-placed phone call from his mom, we were waving flags and jumping up and down with balloons in our hands when they pulled in the driveway from the airport. It was SO good to see him. He certainly has changed in some aspects, but he is definitely still the goofy, fun-loving character that left here on Mother's Day. He'll only be here a few short weeks, with several days of recruit work that is required of him, but we are SOOO glad to have him here.
He didn't get much rest that first day he was home. We had a wedding dinner to attend that evening, then he went with our family to take the girls trick-or-treating. We then finished off with a trip through our local haunted house.
Since Kyle and his older brother Ken are the first in our immediate family to expose us to the military, it's certainly been a multi-faceted lesson. My mom's brothers were in the military, my dad's brother was also in the military, and I've got distant relatives that are in the military, but this has been a little more "personal" experience. I've learned a lot more about pride, worry, and politics since my oldest nephew left for the Air Force over 4 years ago, especially with Ken currently in Iraq.
If you are reading this post, please take a moment to think about what your freedom here in the good ol' United States of America means to you. Think about all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for that freedom and those who are currently fighting a war to protect that freedom. Even those on American Soil contribute a huge amount. PLEASE, whether you agree with war or not, don't forget those who are sacrificing home, family, safety, comfort, and even sometimes their lives to fight for things that sometimes get taken for granted. THANK YOU to all our men in women in the military, whatever their part. Until they all come home.........
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