Independence Day

I hear myself say alot..."my favorite thing about living in Murrieta is...", so i've decided to dedicate my next few posts to telling you all about a few!
This one may sound a little strange...and yet, I feel compelled to share! So please bear with me!
A few weeks ago I was complaining to one of my new friends, who happens to be a neighbor, about Sam being gone for 2 whole days...when it dawned on me that I shouldn't complain to her...Jen has 2 little ones, Ocean (2 in August), and Kai (1 in November)...and her husband Justin is a Reservist for the Navy, which means that once a month, for a weekend, he goes in and serves our country. So, I say..."i'm sorry, I shouldn't complain to you about this!" She then informed me that just this weekend, they had gotten the call, that he was being activated, and would be deploying for 8 months to the the Middle East. Together we cried, talked about what this meant for her, and her family, and then both went on with our days.
The following week, i'm sitting at my friend April's house, getting my hair done, (she is a hairstylist, and fellow Cookie Lee consultant). As i'm sitting in my chair, watching our kids run around playing and laughing, she informs me that her husband Shane who serves our country as a Marine, has been activated, and will be deploying in August for 8 months to a year. April has two daughters, Mary 5 and Lanie 3.
I know it sounds crazy...but this is one of my favorite things about being here in Murrieta.
I grew up with a family tree full of men who proudly served our country. Only, I only really knew of this because of pictures on the walls. I never understood what this meant to the women who stood by them and watched them go. I think of my friends, Jen and April, who will in August, say goodbye to their husbands...and of their babies, who will say goodbye to their daddies two who will likely understand enough to cling to their daddy's leg and beg him not to go, and two who will say goodbye just like he was going to work, not understanding at all the true depth of the moment, and i'm brought to tears. Yet, I am so grateful for the opportunity to know them, and to understand on a slightly different level what these families will go through. Until I lived here, the closest I got to experiencing this was by watching the news, which honestly impacted me little...now, it won't be long until I watch my neighbor drive down the street, off to proudly serve our country.
This 4th of July, as you celebrate our Independence with your friends and families, please remember these families, and the sacrifices they are making in order for us to have the freedoms that we do. And in the next year, if you remember, and you pray...please, lift them up in your prayers!
Happy 4th of July, & God Bless America!