Giving Thanks to Our Military

This Thanksgiving, as we gather around our Thanksgiving meals, whether we are surrounded by family and/or friends or dining on our own, and we share what all we are thankful for, I hope that we all remember our military. Whether we agree with war or not, I hope that we all can appreciate what we have, thanks to our service members. That we be thankful for what they do/have done and all they've sacrificed. Especially those who are far from home this holiday season and those who won't be coming home at all.

To those of you who serve this country or who have served this country, I would like to share my gratitude with you. This holiday season, I am thankful that I am able to wake up in the morning, with a roof over my head and food in my fridge, and my main concern being that I get my child ready and off to school on time. I am thankful to you, that my child has a school to attend and that her main concern is what she'll learn today. Because of you, I am free to speak and write as I please, even if it is to denounce the wars you've fought or to cheer for them. I am free to go to church and to pray to my God, without having to hide away as I do it. I am able to go around town, about my business, without the sound of explosions and sirens warning of incoming attacks. I can sit on my comfy couch, in my pajamas, eating ice cream and watching TV without the fear of a bomb dropping on my home. Because of you, I feel safe enough to scurry about preparing feasts and shopping for gifts. Safe enough, to go about my life as I would any other day. Worrying about finances, kids' activities, housekeeping, work, my family, and those everyday things, instead of worrying about whether or not I'll have a home when I come back from the market or if I'll live to see another day. Because of you, I have so much to be thankful for and I could go on thanking you.

So I say, thank you. Thank you that I am able to lead a fairly normal existence. Thank you, for leaving your families behind and going to a foreign land, whether you wanted to leave or not. Thank you for risking your life, even if I don't deserve it. Thank you for my freedoms and my rights. For my safety and my fearlessness.

Because of you who serve/ have served this country, who serve/have served the people of this country, we are able to celebrate this holiday season. So I wish each of you "happy holidays". And though it isn't the same as being with the ones you love, eating a homecooked meal, please know you are not forgotten. Thank you.