It's Memorial Day again.  The day I remind myself, and anyone who feels the need to listen to me, that our troops and their families need us as much as we need them.  How many spouses at home could use a neighbor's help with the groceries, or a trustworthy babysitter?  How many soldiers, sailors and marines would feel better knowing there are people out there willing to help their families with the most basic needs?  How many families just need to hear that familiar voice to know they are alright?

Don't just shake the hand of a returning member of our armed forces.  Don't just cheer for our first responders.  Help, support and donate.  Be the shoulder they can lean on until and after their hero comes home.  We owe them that.

Even when they are not in harm's way, the are always risking their lives and health for us. I don't always remember that.

The last few weeks have been stressful, when I didn't expect them to be. He was being stationed somewhere safe, far from home but safe. There is nobody fighting anywhere near there. Everyone gets along in a very calm, very polite society.

I could never have imaged that I would wake up one morning to find that his new short term home, in Japan, had been rocked by a massive earthquake. I then looked on in horror as the video footage came in with images of destruction from the ensuing tsunami. The last straw in this trifecta of terror continues today. Will he come home glowing in the dark? Does the risk of the radiation they are inadvertantly recieving mean his future might be compromised?

Every call is important to them because they are important to us.

It's easy to forget that they are still there.  Most of us don't have anyone in the danger zone anymore.  But now it is more important than ever that we keep them in our thoughts and make sure we are taking care of them. 

Most are finished doing that job, but there job protecting us is never over.  It is only fair that our job of taking care of them never ends either.

 Thank you Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines!

I am thankful for all of those who work to keep us safe, both at home and abroad.

I am thankful for everyone who donated to GI Phone Home and other organizations who help our troops call home.

I am thankful that the most recent batch of calling cards we sent arrived just in time for Thanksgiving, so our troops in Afghanistan can talk to their families today and tell them what they are thankful for.

I am thankful for those who take a moment today to give back to those who we are all thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!