As Memorial Day arrives, I find myself thinking more often of Greg. I still love him, and I miss him every single day. I was so blessed to have him in my life-and I am so thankful that we had Logan and Tyler. Because of them, I am able to see a little bit of Greg each and every day. I love noticing their little habits that remind me so much of Greg. Of course, some are not as lovely as others! Nonetheless, I hold onto any little piece of Greg I can find.
While I miss Greg, what hurts the most in knowing that the boys will never really get to know their father. He loved our boys intensely, and while I know he missed me when he was gone, I know it killed him to be away from his boys. Logan, though he was only 6 when Greg died, still understood the magnitude of his dad's death. To this day, he still has moments when he longs for his father. He cries...and of course, I cry too. Tyler, on the other hand, does not have a solid memory of Greg. He only spent about 2 years of his life with Greg; he was 6 months old when he first deployed, then 18 months when he returned. He was just over 2 1/2 when Greg left the last time. That was not a very long time to get to know your father. However, we-myself, Ed, and Logan-take every chance to share our memories of Greg with Tyler in an attempt to allow him to learn more about his father. It saddens me immensely that Tyler has to depend on us for his memories of Greg, but I am so honored to be one of the people to share with him.This year will mark the 4th anniversary of Greg's death in Iraq. We still acknowledge our momentous occasions with him...his birthday, Father's Day, our a
nniversary, Veteren's Day, and, of course, Memorial Day. These are very special moments for our family, and I cherish each one of them. As our lives move forward, we will never forget the sacrifice Greg made for all of us. While we take this time to remember him and the short time we were blessed to have with him, we also want to recognize those soldiers who went before him and have gone since him. We are grateful for your service and sacrifice to our country.
nniversary, Veteren's Day, and, of course, Memorial Day. These are very special moments for our family, and I cherish each one of them. As our lives move forward, we will never forget the sacrifice Greg made for all of us. While we take this time to remember him and the short time we were blessed to have with him, we also want to recognize those soldiers who went before him and have gone since him. We are grateful for your service and sacrifice to our country. 
Lori, this is incredibly touching. Remembering a lost one is so important. Having lost both of my parents by the time I was 21, I still mark the anniversaries of their deaths by doing something that I think they would love. Since Eric has also lost his dad, we carry this tradition on for him as well.
ReplyDeleteJust this year, we began to share our memories of "Grandma Bonnie", "Grandpa George" and "Grandpa Steve" with our daughter on the anniversaries of their passing. Being the memories for someone who was too young to remember, or not even around when those special people where alive is one of the ways that we honour our loved ones.
Grief changes over the years, but never goes completely away. My heart goes out to you and you walk this road with your boys.