Day 4

I am thankful for the Military.  I grew up an Army brat, because of the Army I got to live in Germany and England (I actually went to school in the British school system), and I got to see Wales, Scotland, and Belgium.  I have seen Big Ben (he was being renovated when we lived there), the crown jewels, Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards.  I have been to the city that the Pied Piper was about, and I have been to too many castles to count, including the Fairy Tale Castle, Neuschwanstein.

When I was older, I joined the Navy.  I can't even begin to list all the things the Navy did for me.  I made some amazing friends, that I am still in contact with all these years later.  I lived in some pretty great places too.  I also got to see more of the world (Hawaii, Singapore, and Hong Kong).  I was part of Operation Unified Assistance after the Tsunami hit Indonesia in late 2004.  I will never forget the devastation I saw, or the wonderful acts of humanity that I saw performed. The Navy helped me to grow as a person and helped to shape me into the person I am today.

I am also thankful for all the sacrifices our military men and women make on a daily basis for our freedom.  Not just the members, but their families too.  Having been on both sides of a deployment (the spouse left behind, and the member gone away) I know how hard a deployment is on everyone involved, our military members and their families give so much, and for that I am very thankful, every day.