Happy Memorial Day and Rhut Rho Shaggy!

I would like to thank all of the service men and women that have served our country and sacrificed family, health, and life to keep our country safe.  Our family is proud to have had six such individuals.  My father-in-law (Bob) was a proud veteran of the Navy and served in WWII, my father served in peace time in the Air Force and spent time defending the DMZ in South Korea, my brother-in-law served honorably in the Coast Guard defending our waters, my brother-in-law, Ray, served during the Vietnam war as a proud member of the Air Force, my cousin Cheri also served honorably in the Air Force, and last but not least, my neice's husband, Matt, is in his 20th year of service in the Army as a recruiter.  And I am sure that I am forgetting some others.  We are proud of all of them.  My small family of three started a tradition in 2007 of honoring my dad's and Bob's memory with flowers on their graves.  It hit me hard this year that Bob will have been gone from us for 5 years this July and my dad will have been gone 3 years this August.  So much has happened with our family in the space of that time, but I believe that they have been with us every step of the way  gentling guiding us, providing encouragement, and celebrating the good times and the bad with us.  I miss them both, but know in my heart that they are with us always. 

And enough with the maudlin.  It would not be a holiday without an injury, now would it?  Jeff works very hard to take care of my parents' yard and our yard every summer.   I help Jeff on the weekends when he mows the 3 lots and my parents' yard.  Jacob always goes out with us and rides around on his 4 wheeler and basically terrorizes his grandmother and aunt.  Today, my Uncle Jim from Elkhart drove down to pick up some furniture that we had hauled away from my cousins' house on the campus of Miami University of Ohio on Mother's Day weekend.  The plan was to go in to Lafayette and have lunch and Jacob was excited until we went to get the booster seat out of my dad's car.  Two of his fingers accidentally got shut into the door of the car.  After wailing, tears, some ice, TLC from Mom, and a Scooby Doo movie later (Thank you Cartoon Network), he was fine.  No bones appear to be broken (Thank Goodness - his fingers must be moldable like mine according to Grandma), but he may lose the nail on the tall finger.  So hopefully that is our injury for this holiday.  Hope your holiday has been safe and injury free.  But if not, Scooby Doo can cure anything - at least according to Jacob.