Adventures in Gunder-Land: "Freedom is not Free"

A couple of weeks ago the hubby, Aiden, and I were all having lunch at Chick-fil-a on a Wednesday after Aiden's gym class! Whether I have blantently mentioned it or just said it in passing, Leif is an officer in the Navy, and is not a huge fan of wearing his uniform out in public. He is not the type of guy to wear his service on his sleeve or even mention the fact that he is in the military. However, since he was only meeting us for lunch and heading straight back to work he had to wear his uniform. As we were having lunch an old man comes up to our table and says "hey guy, I just want to thank you for your service" he then looks at Aiden and says "you're a cute little guy yourself". Leif being the humble man that he is just says "thank you, sir". I, being the proud wife who is also slightly hormonal, got a little teary eyed! Fast forward about 2 weeks to yesterday. I met Leif after work to run a few errands and had forgot to bring a change of clothes so I told him it would only be one quick stop and he agreed to go in uniform. We are standing in the shoe section of Dillard's and I see this lady making a beeline for my hubby. "Excuse me sir" she says "Thank you for serving our Country, I really appreciate it". Again, Leif says "oh, thank you very much"...well guess what I do? Turn into weepy woman! You are probably wondering what my point is or if I even have one! Of course I do! I feel like there is a lack of appreciation for the men and women who serve this country. I will even go a step further to say that I even feel like sometimes there is a negative stigma attached to it. In all of the time that we have been in the military, I can probably count on 1 hand the number of times someone has been outwardly appreciative, excluding Fleet Week in NYC where everyone was thankful. Unless you are married to, closely related to or extremely close friends with someone in the military you honestly have no idea the sacrifices that are made! Since today is Thursday, Thankful Thursday, I want to say that I am extremely thankful to the men and women who serve or have served this great country. To my hubby Leif, all of our Navy family, and every person who serves in EVERY branch of the military, I THANK YOU!!! Freedom is not free and I appreciate the sacrifices that you and your family make so that when I tuck my little boy in at night I can rest easy knowing that YOU are protecting us and this great Nation! Thank you for missing the birth of a child, countless birthdays, anniversary's, Christmas's, and every other holiday or momentous occasion. Not to mention the good night kisses, bed time stories and everyday nuances that can be so easily taken for granted. I appreciate your dedication to the safety of so many people whom you have never met and who will most likely never know your name. Thank you to all of my fellow spouses for your sacrifice on the home front! They say that being a military spouse is the hardest job in the military and only we know why! Serving our country is not a job, it is a lifestyle. Although the uniform is clean cut, tailored and for lack of a better word "somewhat glamorous", I assure you that the lifestyle is not! I have a challenge for all of my blogger friends (all 6 of you haha), the next time you see a man or woman in uniform say "thank you", shake their hand, heck buy 'em a drink. It may seem small and insignificant to you but I can assure you that it means the world to these real life heroes!!!