Thanks, 4 times over

I interviewed this amazing guy yesterday who recently moved to the north end of Seattle. We were talking about his background and what he's interested in doing, spending most of that conversation focusing on his experience in the Army. He recently got out and was last stationed at Fort Lewis.

This young guy, in the course of under 5 years, went on 4 deployments - 3 to Iraq and 1 to Afghanistan. Being the wife of an ex-military man myself, the daughter of an Army veteran, the sister of an F-22 instructor pilot, and having met my closest friends through the military or ROTC, I have an unwavering respect for our armed services.

Before leaving, I thanked him for his service...he looked at me and didn't understand why I was thanking him. How is this possible? Are we seriously not thanking these people enough??? It's such a HUGE sacrifice to be in the military that we need to remind these brave men and women, and their families, how thankful we are. Here this guy is, a veteran, totally flailing and unsure of his next move because he's used to it being mapped out for him. Once you've seen what life is like and the connection that being a part of the military grants you, it will always serve as a basis of comparison.

So with Veteran's Day rapidly approaching, let's make sure to give credit to those serving or those that have served...thank them...4 times over.