Thoughts

I can't believe that Jay is still dealing with the financial end of things for his aunt and trying to figure out what to do with all the stuff. She did eventually pass away - the doctors were only able to control the leukemia for a couple of days at a time, and she left us in December. It's never easy dealing with this part of life - it can be very overwhelming at times. Uncle Fred also passed away - on the anniversary of the beginning of The Battle of the Bulge, interestingly enough. That's the one where he won the Bronze Star for - if I remember correctly - leading his platoon (?) on a retreat in battle conditions and not losing a single man. There's a special term, so I'll have to check my facts on that to make sure. I'll edit this entry later to correctly reflect the circumstances.

Thoughts on Iraq - so many of us wished it had never come to that (war), and some have declared it done and overwith, but there's still so much going on, and our troops are still in great danger in many places. One of the staff at the last sub jobs I had found out that his brother in law is being sent over - and he'll be in the danger zones. Is there anywhere over there that isn't a danger zone any more? My heart goes out to the children forced to go through this mess. I wish they could all have the carefree childhood I had. They should be going to school and playing with family and friends, not running from bombs and being terrorized.

At least my Grandpa's smile and sense of humor are still there - even though his power of speech is waning now. He's truly a bright spot in all this mess and still a rock for me to lean on. If he can't say anything else, he can still sing hymns and say prayers. The power and blessingings of God are totally evident in his life.