We are spending the day in Palm Springs, CA with our daughter, son, future daughter-in-law, future son-in-law, his parents, and his two brothers! 10 people in all. It will be our daughter's turn to cook the turkey (a first!). I am thankful that we are all here to celebrate this holiday together and bring our two families together.
I want to tell you about Chris. Chris is 27 years old, an Iraqi war veteran. He enlisted in the Army. When his unit unfortunately activated an IED, several of his buddies were killed. Chris was wounded, sent to the hospital with a leg wound, and sent back into battle the next day. Another IED exploded. Two more of his buddies were killed. Chris lost an eye because shrapnel went through his goggles. He was sent home. He is strangly quiet a lot of the time, but I did see a few glimpses of humor when I met him yesterday. He also has 4 stars of his arm and numerous other tattoos. I asked my daughter what the 4 stars were for. She replied, "Those are for his buddies who died in the explosions. That's how he remembers them." I was unusually quite while I digested that news. He is also the recipient of two Purple Hearts for saving other members of his squad. 27 years old and to have been through so much... I am thankful that Chris is here with us today to celebrate Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for all the other young men and women who have put their lives in harms' way to protect our country. May God bless them all.
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