News

Today I arrived home to a news story that knocked the breath out of me.

I don't know if you've heard or not, but yesterday was an especially fatal day in Afghanistan for our US troops. One of those deaths is hitting exceptionally close to home for me, though.

A good friend of a good friend of mine died. A helicopter pilot. A Marine Corps helicopter pilot. A Marine Corps Helicopter Pilot who is a Captain. A Marine Corps helicopter pilot who is a Captain who has a one-year-old child and a wife only 2 weeks from delivering their second child.

Is it sick that my gut reaction upon hearing this news was, "Thank God that wasn't my Marine."

Which led me to think, "Ohmygod... that could have been my Marine."

Which led me to think, "I am sick with sadness for the wife this Marine has left behind."

I don't know Captain Kyle R. VanDeGiesen or his wife. I know someone who knows them. But, even if I didn't know someone who knows them, I think this story would still have struck a little bit too close to home for me.

It's the realization that my absolute worst nightmare has turned into this family's reality.

My heart and prayers go out to this family.

And,
Today I feel a little bit more thankful for what I have, and a little bit more aware of how fragile what I have really is.