Never take loved ones for granted

I was stopped at a red light today as I ran errands-- going to the post office, getting cat food and barbecue supplies for this weekend.

I had the windows rolled all the way down. It is gorgeous here today. 83 degrees outside.

I was daydreaming about the usual things (this is a particularly long light at a very busy intersection) when I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in front of me.

It read:

My son......... My soldier......... My hero
Please come home to us safely

I started to cry and cry as I write this.

That family won't have their son with them to share the gorgeous weather this weekend. He won't be there if they cook out or sit outside chatting in the cool evening-almost-summer breeze.

He won't be with them to star gaze on Sunday at The Moon, the Pleiades, and the planet Mercury when they align low in the west-northwest as night falls.


The Pleiades November 2007: I highly recommend clicking on this image to appreciate its beauty. Image courtesy of Antonio Fernandez-Sanchez.

Wherever you are this weekend, remember all of the families who will have empty seats at their tables and absent voices in their circles of conversation.

May they all come home to us safely... soon.

PS: Here's the Huff Post piece from today that followed yesterday's about Alyssa Peterson. It describes another female soldier (one who by chance met Peterson once) and her experience with the so-called advanced interrogation techniques instituted in Iraq.