Veteran's Day 2009

This picture was taken on January 18, 1995--the day I joined the United States Air Force. Even though I was REALLY excited, I was also very scared and nervous because I did not REALLY know what I was going to be getting myself into!

This picture was taken on Basic Training Graduation Day. Behind me is my "living" space. Even though Boot Camp was far from "fun", it was an experience I will NEVER forget. That training STILL shapes who I am today.

This last picture was taken during the final week that I was in the military. I was almost 8 months pregnant with Niah. These were some of the members of the late night shift at the Aerospace Medicine Squadron that I worked at while at Travis Air Force Base in Vacaville, CA.

I only served 2 years in the Air Force. I had planned to be career military, but that changed when I found out I was going to be a mom. Many of my friends who were military moms had tough choices to make. They gave up a lot (like breastfeeding and first birthdays, etc.) because of their duty to serve. One of my friends had to leave her 6 week old baby behind in order to spend 2 weeks on field duty (basically you're camped out on base, but they treat you like you are in the middle of the desert--you have zero contact with your family, even though they are only blocks away). I remember her crying and crying (I was about 3 months pregnant at the time), and she kept saying she wish that she had gotten out when she had the chance. She kept saying that it was much harder to leave her baby behind than she thought it would be. I took that in to consideration when it was my opportunity to make that choice.

I LOVED being in the military. In many ways I still miss it, but I love my children more and am very thankful to be home with them. Every veteran has their own story-- many are very tragic. As civilians, we can not even comprehend the sacrifice that these men and women have given so that we can be free--a "freedom" that they themselves do not even get to enjoy while they are serving. Military men and women sacrifice basic freedoms that we take for granted everyday. Freedoms such as calling in "sick" to work, deciding to change jobs, what type of job they want, what haircuts/hairstyles they want, and even how fat they want to be. The military even regulates the distance that service members are allowed to travel. At Travis Air Force Base, we had a 50 mile radius. We were not allowed to go past that unless we had specific permission or unless we were on official leave of absence.

My brother-in-law is currently serving in the military. He makes many, many unnoticed sacrifices for our country. That sacrifice extends even to my sister and my 2 nephews. They all pay a price for his service.

For all those who have served and who are still serving, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.