30 Days of Gratitude Photos #4 Military

I grew up in a military family.

I am grateful for the opportunity to support my dad as he served even if I was a little child at the time ... I am appreciative of the sacrifices that our servicemen and women make - and also of the sacrifices their families make.... on MY behalf!  Their service is personal - even while they don't know me and I don't know them.  I am grateful.

The first picture I chose is my grandfather

I chose him to represent my family members who served in the armed forces.... my father and brother.. and others up the family tree since our country was formed!


And I am grateful for the ways that our veterans and their families continue to serve their communities... MY community.  I will hunt for a new "today" photo that embodies my gratitude for the military - but I couldn't help but include this one I took last year...

a young man, a veteran marine, all decked out in pink to show support for the breast cancer fight (and to protect all the crazy pinkly-attired people parading through Philadelphia on the 3Day Walk that weekend)

Service.  I am grateful for their service :-)

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What I am enjoyiing most about this photo challenge is the opportunity to go through old pictures remembering blessings.... and then again, moving through my day in gratitude with a theme in mind.  It keeps my grateful radar up :-)

This weekend I am in Savannah for a wedding and had some time to kill today.  My husband and I walked around the historic district just to enjoy some time together and this beautiful city.  There are several small island parks and this memorial caught my eye.

Commemorating a Haitian corps fighting for America's freedom in the Revolutionary War.  I think we forget sometimes that America is the grand governmental experiment in freedom.  With all our problems with the government, ours is the one that is evolving and changing and growing, for better or worse.... and people from around the globe desiring freedom from oppression fought to create this country.  I am grateful to all those who helped form and protect this nation!

With gratitude to the military on my mind today... I spied this at lunch...

how we can help those we are grateful to.  I am grateful for ways to give back!  It is good to feel grateful :-)  It is better to give back!