This would be my very first blog and would like it to be dedicated to the men and women who proudly serve and protect our country. I received this as an email from my father who is a retired Sgt. Major from the US Army. I dedicate it to him and his service for my freedom and yours.

Have a great Memorial Day Everyone.


Her hair was up in a pony tail,
>>>> her favorite dress tied with a bow.
>>>> Today was Daddy’s Day at school,
>>>> and she couldn’t wait to go.
>>>>
>>>> But her mommy tried to tell her,
>>>> that she probably should stay home
>>>> Why the kids might not understand,
>>>> if she went to school alone.
>>>>
>>>> But she was not afraid;
>>>> she knew just what to say.
>>>> What to tell her classmates
>>>> of why he wasn’t there today.
>>>>
>>>> But still her mother worried,
>>>> for her to face this day alone.
>>>> And that was why once again,
>>>> she tried to keep her daughter home..
>>>>
>>>> B ut the little girl went to school
>>>> eager to tell them all.
>>>> About a dad s he never sees
>>>> a dad who never calls.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet.
>>>> Children squirming impatiently,
>>>> anxious in their seats
>>>>
>>>> One by one the teacher called
>>>> a student from the class.
>>>> To introduce their daddy,
>>>> as seconds slowly passed.
>>>>
>>>> At last the teacher called her name,
>>>> every child turned to stare.
>>>> Each of them was searching,
>>>> a man who wasn’t there.
>>>>
>>>> ‘Where’s her daddy at?’
>>>> She heard a boy call out.
>>>> ‘She probably doesn’t have one,’
>>>> another student dared to shout.
>>>>
>>>> And from somewhere near the back,
>>>> s he heard a daddy say,
>>>> ‘Looks like another deadbeat dad,
>>>> too busy to waste his day.’
>>>>
>>>> The words did not offend her,
>>>> as she smiled up at her Mom.
>>>> And looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on.
>>>> And with hands behind her back,
>>>> slowly she began to speak.
>>>> And out from the mouth of a child,
>>>> came words incredibly unique.
>>>>
>>>> ‘My Daddy couldn’t be here,
>>>> because he lives so far away..
>>>> But I know he wishes he could be,
>>>> since this is such a special day.
>>>>
>>>> And though you cannot meet him,
>>>> I wanted you to know.
>>>> All about my daddy,
>>>> and how much he loves me so.
>>>>
>>>> He loved to tell me stories
>>>> he taught me to ride my bike.
>>>> He surprised me with pink roses,
>>>> and taught me to fly a kite.
>>>>
>>>> We used to share fudge sundaes,
>>>> and ice cream in a cone.
>>>> And though you cannot see him.
>>>> I’m not standing here alone.
>>>>
>>>> ‘Cause my daddy’s always with me,
>>>> even though we are apart
>>>> I know because he told me,
>>>> he’ll forever be in my heart’
>>>> With that, her little hand reached up,
>>>> and lay across her chest.
>>>> Feeling her own heartbeat,
>>>> beneath her favorite dress.
>>>>
>>>> And from somewhere there in the crowd of dads, her mother stood
>>>> in tears.
>>>> Proudly watching her daughter,
>>>> who was wise beyond her years.
>>>>
>>>> For she stood up for the love
>>>> of a man not in her life.
>>>> Doing what was best for her,
>>>> doing what was right.
>>>>
>>>> And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into
>>>> the crowd.
>>>> She finished with a voice so soft,
>>>> but its message clear and loud.
>>>>
>>>> ‘I love my daddy very much,
>>>> he’s my shining star.
>>>> And if he could, he’d be here,
>>>> but heaven’s just too far.
>>>>
>>>> You see he is a Marine
>>>> and died just this past year
>>>> When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
>>>> and taught Americans to fear.
>>>> But sometimes when I close my eyes,
>>>> it’s like he never went away.’
>>>> And then she closed her eyes,
>>>> and saw him there that day.
>>>>
>>>> And to her mother’s amazement,
>>>> she witnessed with surprise.
>>>> A room full of daddies and children,
>>>> all starting to close their eyes.
>>>>
>>>> Who knows what they saw before them,
>>>> who knows what they felt inside.
>>>> Perhaps for merely a second,
>>>> they saw him at her side.
>>>>
>>>> ‘I know you’re with me Daddy,’
>>>> to the silence she called out.
>>>> And what happened next made believers,
>>>> of those once filled with doubt.
>>>>
>>>> Not one in that room could explain it,
>>>> for each of their eyes had been closed.
>>>> But there on the desk beside her,
>>>> was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.
>>>>
>>>> And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of
>>>> her shining star.
>>>> And given the gift of believing,
>>>> that heaven is never too far.
>>>>
>>>> They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to
>>>> appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to
forget
>>>> them .