What this holday means to me...

Today is the 4th of July - Independence Day - and today I am feeling many different things.  First and foremost, I am thankful for my country and my freedom and the men and women - past and present - for protecting both of these priceless things.

I am also feeling a great deal of sorrow.  My mom's fiance, Bob, lost his battle with cancer less than two weeks ago on June 23rd.  He served 20 years in the Army and served in both Vietnam and Korea.  He had a remarkable sense of patriotism and loved his country above all other things.  His favorite song was the National Anthem, which I am honored for him to have heard me sing a few months ago via YouTube.  He was a fighter both during war overseas and during his own personal war against lung cancer. 

I thought I was doing alright coping with this loss - last week I had to be strong for my mom at his funeral - but after finding a few cards he sent to me for my birthday and for Jason's and my engagement, reading his words to me in his handwriting, I just couldn't hold back the tears.  I cannot express in words just how much I loved and respected this amazing man.  He always saw the good in everyone and everything and enjoyed life to the fullest.  I am a better person having had him in my life the past several years.  Although he wasn't able to legally be apart of my family, he will always be Dad to me.

So today on Independence Day, a day he loved so very much, I wanted to pay a little tribute to him.  There are flags lining the front of the house in the flowerbeds, and he is close in my thoughts and heart.  But what else could I do?  Then I remembered a picture Jason had taken last year during a trip to Washington, D.C. of the Vietnam Memorial Wall with the Washington Memorial in the background.  I dug it up and edited it to my liking.

I don't really know how to wrap up this blog entry, perhaps because my grieving over the loss of a very special man is not over and won't be over for some time.  So I guess I will wish you all a very happy Independence Day and ask that you remember those who have enabled us to make it through another year with all the freedoms that we often take for granted. 

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Love you, Daddy-o.

(Although this is an image from our archives, I still wanted to share it with everyone at You Capture.)