Happy 4th of July

This picture was taken last 4th of July down at Myrtle Beach. I have always loved the 4th of July and have never taken the meaning of the holiday for granted. The 4th has always been more than picnics, fireworks and parades. My great uncle served in WW2 and the Korean war. After coming back to the states on a Navy carrier, somehow something fell and hit my great uncle on the head. This caused him to get a concussion and when he went and got an MRI they discovered a tumor. When doing surgery on the tumor he stroked out on the table paralyzing his whole right side. My great uncle went home to stay with my grandparents who did their best to take care of him but with three little kids of their own and with the responsibility of taking care of their own parents' it was too much. My great uncle realized this and at the age of 45 moved to the King County Veterans home in northern Wisconsin. There he lived 5 hours away from all of his family until he passed away at the age of 83. Every holiday was spent visiting my great uncle where as you walked the halls all you saw was the reminder of the tragedies of war. Many of these men and women were scarred, missing limbs and were lonely. But they were always nice and so looked forward to any visitor's coming to see one of their own.

The home had all these underground passage ways which led to one main building where a museum was located. This museum provided histories of all the wars past and present. The Veterans home was also hosted on a lake and my cousins and I always had tons of things to do there. We loved going up to visit my great uncle and even though we found it exciting we never forgot the reason why my uncle was there nor did we ever take the freedom of our country for granted because one look at the men and women at the veteran's home was a reminder of just how much we have to be thankful for and of just how much these men and women sacrificed so we could enjoy our freedon

My first military funeral was my great uncle's and there isn't a day that has gone by that I don't miss him.

And now with my hubby in the military all I can do is be so proud and supportive of a hubby that sacrifices a lot for this country. Regardless your opinion of the war these men and women are sacrificing their lives to protect us and our country so that we may enjoy freedom.

Happy 4th everyone!!