Memorial Day...

I'm seeing a LOT of Facebook & Twitter posts about honoring veterans and soldiers today. "Freedom isn't free," "Thank you for your sacrifice," and my personal favorite, "Never forget..." (insert supportive military sentiment/patriotic cliche here). And I just have to say, for myself anyway, that forgetting isn't possible. I couldn't forget...literally not a day goes by that I don't think about it. I remember the injured, the dead, the veterans, those currently serving...they are all so close to me...

My DH is in the process of retiring after 23 years of active-duty service in the U.S. Army.
His brother M was a commissioned officer in the Army for a time, and his little sister A is currently serving as a medic in the Army. Their dad has served in the Navy for years.
My sister N is currently serving in the Air Force and is a Lt. Col. and totally an awesome badass.
Her husband W served in the Navy.
My brother K retired after 23 years of service in the Navy, and his son C is also now serving in the Navy.
My brother B was in the Air Force.
I have so many exes who were or are military, it's not even funny, to include a handful of one-night-stands.
Kids with whom I attended high school or college, or even met briefly once at some function are now lost to us.
I've had friends or relatives serving in nearly every branch of the U.S. military for as long as I can remember, since I grew up adjacent to an Army base.

Forgetting, ignoring, or not paying attention to those who serve isn't an option. I don't mean to sound ungrateful--what I mean to say is that I don't need a special fucking day set aside to acknowledge them, their service and their sacrifices. They are always on my mind. Every day, I dread reading the news or the obituaries just a little bit, because there is always a possibility that I will see the name & face of someone I know, or someone I once knew.

So today and every day, I salute those who serve, those who have served, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Patriotically,
Lola