Joy and tears...homecoming at the USO.

The day before we left for Texas I was invited to take part in a welcoming back of about 200 troops from Iraq. It was an amazing experience, and one that I will remember forever. There were many smiles and many tears. It was amazing to see families and couples reunited after so long, and it truly touched my heart. I felt very lucky to share in some wonderful moments with the couples and families...seeing couples embrace and kiss each other with a passion that is rarely seen in this world, seeing little boys and girls run to their daddy's and cover them with tears built up from months of missing them, and entire families hugging each other, and surrounding their military family member with love that is hard to describe. I knew this experience would bring me to tears...but it overwhelmed me even more than I though it would.

I couldn't help but think of the day that Matt will come home...the day I will feel his arms around me again...and kiss him with every ounce of emotion I have been feeling over the past 7 months. Thinking about that wonderful day, and seeing the love being expressed all around me brought me to tears. It is a very rare thing to see true passion and love between two people, and within a family...and I felt lucky to have experienced it all around me.

There a lot of people who criticize the military and I have heard "I could never do that" more times than I can count....but most people don't understand that when you love someone this much, you will wait forever for them, and it's not hard at all. After seeing these amazing men and women come home to their families, I am convinced once again that there are people in this world that know what true love really is. True love is about support, it's about sacrifice and patience, it's about waiting for the one you love, and embracing them with all you have when they come back to you again. Military families don't have the time to take each other for granted...and are forced into making the most of each and every moment they have together. Most couples don't realize how much they mean to each other until after they are already divorced, or one of them has passed away...but military couples know what life would be like without the other person...and how lucky they are to have time together.

The military life is not always easy...but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love Matt with all of my heart, and would wait a lifetime for him if I had to. I feel lucky to be apart of the military community, and will do whatever I can to give back what all of them have given to me...The chance to love who I want to love...to build the life and family I have always wanted...and the freedom to be who I am inside. We all owe our lives to the men and women who serve our country...it just seems like many people have forgotten about them and the sacrifices they make every day.

This post is dedicated to the men and women who serve our country and make sacrifices in order to fight for what they believe in....and to my very own hero, who I will love everyday of my life!

If anyone wants to check out pictures from the USO you can go to this link:

www.rickandannsspace.com

The USO has given me so much over the past few months, and I am honored to volunteer my time to serve with them.