Greetings all and Happy Friday!!!

Here we are on the eve of the Memorial Day weekend and I can't help but stop and think of all those that have gone before us, those who are there now and those that will continue to serve this country so that we might be afforded the freedoms I know we often take for granted.

Yesterday I was finishing putting up my flag decorations and I couldn't help but be grateful. I was standing at the gate by the pasture and I heard a woman speaking in the distance and the sound of horseshoes hitting the pavement. I looked up from the wire I was using to harness my red, white and blue bunting and saw a woman on a horse, talking on her cell phone kind of cruisin' the street. I looked around and thought, "is this for real? Where in the world would you ever see this?" Just as a child rides his bike around the neighborhood, she was riding her horse! Gosh! I so wish I could have run in and grabbed my camera! I so wanted to show you! (maybe my words have drawn enough of a photo for you?)

But as she passed, with the reins in her hand, she waved. I waved back. I smiled.

"I live in a town where people wave", I thought to myself. When Terry and I are out and about around town, as we drive over the railroad tracks the pick up going the opposite direction yields an old man that raises two fingers from the steering wheel in his gesture of "hello". I will be outside working in the garden, as I hear a vehicle getting closer, I glance up and the woman in her Expedition waves at me. I wave back. I smile.

I am excited that my parents are coming into town this weekend. I am too excited to spend time with them; to share a little piece of this great country I get to call home. In all of this, however, I don't want to take for granted all those whose selfless dedication is the true reason I get to display my Red, White, and Blue bunting. The reason I get to have this blog and share whatever is on my crazy mind.

So, as we all celebrate and plan what we are going to do for our 3-day weekend, I hope we will all take the time to thank those who wear a uniform and serve our great country. Along with their families and friends, they pay a price we will never fully understand. So THANK YOU!

To my friends, Rudi, Mitch, Steve Castrita, Cody, Carl, Christopher Aguilera, Rodney & Monica Moss, Pastor Sandra, and all the others in uniform.....thank you! Your service does not go un-noticed and I am grateful.