Flying home from Utah

On monday while making the trip home from my parents cabin, I had a really cool experience. Cayson and I checked for our flight about 2 hours early and I noticed a few men in their BDU's. I watched a few families infront of the security area saying goodbye to the men that were leaving and thought of the incredible sacrifice that they were making. While making our way to the gate I saw more and more army men walking around, some with their families with them. While we waited at our gate I watched as more and more gathered together, huging their wives, children, parents, siblings, and girlfriends. A few groups stood out to me in particular. I saw a young couple walking around, the soldier holding a tiny new baby in his arms. His wife had tears running down her face and her husband kept looking at the little baby, maybe wondering if he would ever see it grow up. The next family I saw, the children were a little older. They were holding dad's legs and laughing. I watched as two brothers (apparently the older brother had come back from Iraq and would not be returning with his little brother) hug and cry together. The younger one couldn't have been more than 19 or 20. There were a lot of young men there, being called out for the first time, as well as older, seasoned men with families. Watching this, I thought "I wonder if I could ever do something like this?" Could I watch Thad walk away, not knowing if I would see him again? Could I say goodbye to my dad or brothers and wonder if they would come home? It was heart wrenching to watch these brave soldiers and their families but it was also one of the best experiences that I have ever had. It turned out that they were on my flight to Phoenix but boarding another flight to their base. They got to board the flight before everyone (expect preboarders) and when they started boarding, everyone at the gate clapped for them. (it was kinda cool cause I was the last pre-boarder and they walked on right behind me so it felt like the were clapping for me too, I felt like a celebrity!!!) I sat behind 2 soldiers and heard them talking. They were Army National Guard being deployed to Iraq. They had been deployed before and never ended up leaving but this time it was a for sure thing, they would be heading out Wednesday for Iraq. I felt very honored to spend a few hours with so many brave men, willing to risk their lives for others. I am proud to live in a country where there are men and women willing to help other countries fight for the freedoms that we enjoy. I am grateful that there are others out there that do it so that my loved one don't have to....I'm just selfish that way. This was probably a once in a lifetime experience, hopefully Cayson will remember me telling him about the soldiers. I am hopeful that the families of the 40 men that I saw will see their loved ones soon. Not only do the soldiers in Iraq need our prayers, the families need our prayers as well.

on a side note.....I sat next to Tagg Romney (Mit Romney's son) on the airplane too! For all you Twilight lovers, he was reading Eclipse, good taste! He's very nice and we talked about his fathers campaign. What a cool flight!