Military Appreciation Month

By  Cindy Burlingame

There are those who see military life as too difficult to bear; however to those of us who live it, it is a choice we have learned to embrace. We don’t stop to think about it, we don’t expect recognition for it, and we certainly don’t ask for favors because of it. We are well aware of what sacrifice is as we make them on a daily basis. Many of them are the result of our spouse being on active duty. From being a married “single” parent, to living on an income that most would cry about, we spouses know exactly what makes a sacrifice. However, none of us make the ultimate sacrifice that those serving do. While I hate standing on the sidelines, waving goodbye to the love of my life as he leaves on yet another deployment, I am not the one who is going to miss every stage our children go through for the duration of the deployment. While I will pray every night for the safety of my beloved, I’m not the one who has to worry about snipers, suicide bombers, or driving by a curb that is going to blow up my convoy. How often do we, as spouses, actually thank our service members for what they do? I know I don’t do it often enough. Here is a condensed list of ways to show our appreciation I found on http://www.nmam.org/ .

A Few Ways to Support Our Military!

1. Fly the flag on your house, car or business.
2. Send an email or letter of thanks through A Million Thanks at www.amillionthanks.org
3. Send a care package to a soldier through the USO at www.usocares.org
4. Ask your elected officials at all levels to recognize our military.
5. Wear a “Support our Troops” wristband or shirt.
6. Raise funds for military charities.
7. When you see a vet, shake their hand and say “thank you.”

These are just a few ideas. You can find the entire list at the above website. One more idea that I will be sure to do this evening… kiss your spouse and say, “Thank you, honey.”

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