Family

Family is such a big word. It conjures up so many different thoughts, feeling and emotions.

My family is minus one person this week. It feels so strange. There are six of us here normally - minus one shouldn't be a big deal. But there is a definite loss in the feeling and "life" of this house. Kody is at scout camp. I know he's having fun. He's shooting rifles and swimming and hiking and hanging with his buddies. I want him to have a wonderful time. But I'll be ready to see him on Saturday.

I watched an emotional TV show tonight about a Gulf war veteran who now has M.S. His wife and kids have to do so much to take care of him on a daily basis, yet he saved his son's life when his son was hit and dragged 25 yards by a truck. Somehow, in his wheelchair, this man was able to keep his son from bleeding to death after his arm was torn off by the truck. The boy was 12 years old when the accident happened and his 16 year old sister would go to the hospital every day affter school and sleep on the hospital floor to make sure her brother was being taken care of. Her mom had to stay with her dad, and his wheelchair wouldn't fit in their car so he couldn't leave the house. The kids say their father is their hero. The father says his wife is his hero because of how she takes care of him and their children. The daughter is going into the national guard to help finsh the job her father started.

That's family. They truly know what they mean to each other.

Oh, we know what we mean to each other, too. It's just that the little things sometimes get in the way. I know I miss them when they're gone to scout camp or on business trip or even overnight at a friend's. I guess sometimes it takes those thigns to remember how much I truly do love my family and how much I need them on a daily basis.