The pain...

Read this article; take a half hour from your day and read the whole thing. (Unless you're a military spouse, and in that case, you'd just be putting yourself through torture...) It's incredibly sad and will bring you to tears and rip your stomach and heart apart, but it's beautifully written and reminds you that many many people are affected by this war we're in. It puts a face to all this chaos that, I will admit, sometimes doesn't phase me when I read that another person has died. I need to remember that it's real men and women out there, putting their lives on the line, and real families who lose people that are most important to them.

THANK YOU to those of you who defend this country of ours, no matter how fucked up it is. I know I don't have the courage to face death every day, whether yours or someone else's, and it amazes me that you do.
THANK YOU to the spouses and families who have lost your loved ones or have someone away from home right now. I can't imagine the worry all of you have to go through on a daily basis.