4th of July to a Grown Up

I am so glad summer is here and right now I have more time to blog. I enjoy it. The 4th of July is this weekend and the older I get, the more I appreciate the celebration. When I was little it was all about the fireworks. I still enjoy them and love to watch them (especially over Smith Mountain Lake) but it means more now.

I have been to Mexico, Brazil, and Guatemala. Going to another country gives a new perspective to the good ole USA. I have taught students from all over the world - Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Mexico, Spain, and many other countries. Some of these students are 1st generation Americans. They all have one thing in common - they wanted to come here. The United States of America!

Now that I'm an adult I have many friends, friend's spouses, kids I grew up in church with, and former classmates who are in the military. With Facebook it is so easy to keep up with people. Wives who have husbands that leave for months or a year at a time. They run a home and raise their children while their husbands are serving our country. It's a sacrifice. Not only for the military men and women but for the families that stay here while they serve. And of course those who give their lives to uphold, protect, and maintain the freedom that we all hold so dearly yet so flippantly take for granted.

THANK YOU to all the men and women who have served and who do serve. And to their families who send them off and wait for their safe return! I am so thankful for my country and for the freedom it gives to me. This week as I reflect on July 4th I want to take a couple of days and share the freedoms that mean the most to me! HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!