05/24/2026
For over a decade, military life wasn’t something I watched from afar, it was simply life.
I watched men and women miss birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, first days of school, and countless ordinary moments most people take for granted. I watched families hold down the fort through deployments, uncertainty, and sacrifice. Some gave years of their lives. Some gave far more.
What I love most is that my family doesn’t just remember service members as uniforms. They remember people. The guy who ate a bug for five dollars. The reigning Chubby Bunny champion at a Halloween party. The friend who built the most epic sandcastles on the beach. The men and women who showed up to barbecues, birthday parties, and community events with laughter, stories, and bigger-than-life personalities.
Behind every uniform is a human being with a family, dreams, fears, and people who love them.
This weekend, and every day, I’m incredibly grateful for the rough men and women willing to do hard things in dangerous places, often in the cover of darkness, so the rest of us can live our ordinary lives in peace. Their sacrifices, and the sacrifices of their families, are not lost on me.
To those who served, those who continue to serve, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice: thank you. We remember.
