FOOD FOR THE SOUL
Today is Veterans Day, and I want to re-post a blog I wrote months ago in honor of my son, as an honor to those veterans out there that have served our country. I can not even begin to express my thanks to those men and women who are braver than I would ever hope to be. I also want to put a “shout out” to the husbands, wives, moms and dads who have experienced kissing their loved one goodbye at the airport, not knowing if they will return from lands unknown. I can’t even explain what a hopeless feeling it is to send them off into harms way. While some have sacrificed all, we were blessed to have had our son return safely from both Korea and multiple deployments to Iraq. This is a story about one of those homecomings ♥
During my son Ricks senior year of high school, he made the decision that he would join the military after graduation. He signed up early, and spent his last year of high school in the Air Force Guard. I wasn’t really excited about it, because there was continued unrest in the world. He was determined to make this his career, so I, as a loving mother, stood beside him in his decision. We enjoyed the summer after his graduation as a family, knowing that life as we knew it would never be the same. The tragedy of September 11th struck and Rick still hadn’t signed the “final” papers to enlist. Let me tell you, I did my best to persuade him not sign. The problem being that Rick was feeling the same way most Americans were feeling, that something needed to be done. So with fear and pride and determination, we took him to the local recruiters office in October 2001. He had now passed out of my hands, and into the hands of the Air Force. We hadn’t driven 5 miles to return home when everyone in the car burst into tears.
He went for basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio Texas, and we flew out there to see his graduation and spend Thanksgiving with him. He had decided at that point to follow in his dads shoes, who was a police officer, and become a member of the Security Forces. That would now become his life, and he remained at Lackland for continued training. After graduation he was allowed to leave base, and we returned with him to our hotel near the River Walk. The first thing I noticed was that I had sent my son away as a boy, and he had become a man in 6 short weeks. My heart was swollen with pride knowing the unselfish thing he had done. The problem was, that I knew deep down inside that America was not going to sit quietly while our land was fired upon, and soon my son would join many others in the fight for freedom.
After one of his deployments, in the early years of career, he decided to surprise me and show up at work. I knew he was coming home, but had no idea the actual date. Some of my co-workers were aware of this, and made sure I stayed at work so I would be there when he arrived. I work as a nurse in a jail, so they had a code word for when he arrived, and I was to go to the front lobby to pick up some medication dropped off by the pharmacy. This seemed a little strange to me, but whatever…..They let me through the doors, and there he was….
They had pulled it off, I was so surprised and happy. You see clips all the time showing sons and daughters returning to surprise their mothers, but until you experience it yourself, you can’t completely relate. He went on to be deployed to Iraq 4 times and was stationed in Korea, Florida, Las Vegas and is now back in the guard as a Tech Sgt. He truly has an angel with him that has kept him out of harms way during these deployments. I can’t tell you the horrible feeling you get as a mother, to say goodbye to your son before these deployments, not knowing if you will ever see him again. I thank God everyday that I am in a country that is free, and have the utmost respect for those men and women, throughout the ages, who have fought to give us this freedom. They are much braver than I ever will be. I watch the political fights going on with the upcoming election and I just shake my head……I know who the real heroes are and they don’t wear a red or blue tie. So this is my salute to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard…may God watch over each and every one of you. And God Bless America!
FOOD FOR THE BODY
Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
6-7 slices of bacon, fried and crumbled
1 cup sour cream
2 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup chopped onions (I use green onions)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 head cauliflower cut up into bite size pieces
1 bunch broccoli, cut up into bite sized pieces
1 small bag frozen peas, thawed
Combine the bacon, sour cream, mayonnaise, onions, sugar, cheese and dash of salt.
Mix well.
Add the cauliflower, broccoli and peas.
Stir to coat and refrigerate.
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