Today, I hope everyone takes a moment to stop and think about all the men and women and their families who have sacrificed to ensure our continuing freedom. Thank you to each and every one for all you have done and continue to do to keep us safe and free!!
I have several family members who have served in the military. I have uncles who served in the Army, Deputy D served in the Marines, and my dad traveled the world while serving in the Navy.
One of the biggest fights that Deputy D and I ever had was when we were first married and I made the mistake of making a comment that was something along the lines of him being a former Marine. Trust me when I tell you that most of these guys take the service to their country very seriously and there is no such thing as a former Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine. And when I think about how much time he spent overseas, keeping our country safe, it makes me very proud of him.
My dad and his time in the Navy came up several times this weekend. How fitting that today is Memorial Day.
Among all of the skills that Dad brought away from the Navy, the most useful one for our family was his ability to take the items that a normal person would pack in a suitcase and fold and squish until it all fit into a small handbag. We never traveled light because we could cram so much stuff into our available space.
It's a pretty handy skill, and I think it stems from only having about a square foot of space to store all of your earthly possessions while living underwater on a submarine. He has this uncanny ability to see a small space and know exactly what he can fit into it, and keep everything packed nice and neat.
There is not an inch of wasted space when he is done. And it is not a hot mess... If you ever saw his work you would be amazed and would be in awe of his packing skills.
Although nowhere near the packing guru that he is, I did have a good teacher and grew up learning his packing secrets.
So when Deputy D came to me last week before we left for our trip and said that I couldn't pack anything else because the car was full, I went out, took one look, sighed heavily, mused about how much I miss my dad in situations like this, and then proceed to unload the car and repack it. With room to spare.
When we left this weekend, I took the last bag out to the car to find that Deputy D had carried everything out and left it spread out in the parking lot with the hatch door open. He waved at the car, said "Do your thing" and then walked off.
Among many other things I am grateful for, thank you Navy for enabling me to learn how to pack a million things into a teeny, tiny little space.
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