A world of thanks...

I felt like I needed to write this to thank everyone near and dear to us...and sent it to our local papers, who both published around the 4th of July holiday. Enjoy...


To the Editor,

I wanted to take a quick moment this 4th of July holiday to thank a few of our community members. My husband is currently deployed to Iraq, and we had very little time to prepare for his departure. With that being the case, it has been a difficult adjustment at our home, in terms of all of the practical items that need to be done, along with keeping up our finances, my career and son.

I have been blessed beyond measure by our friends and neighbors—who have gone great lengths to take out our trash, shovel our driveway in the winter, mow our yard when our mowers break (which is often!) , and generally keep a kind, watchful eye out for us. Those small things have meant more than I can explain. I would also like to thank the many members of the Akron Area YMCA, where my husband is employed, that have kept us so close in thought and prayer.

And so this 4th of July holiday, I honor all of them…because while we take time to honor the men and women that serve our country…it is also people like this that exemplify the true meaning of community in the absence of our loved ones overseas. I, my entire family, and families just like mine, give thanks from the very bottom of our hearts. Happy Independence Day!

*love*