I normally steer away from the topic of politics on this blog. Or anything highly controversial. It's just not my cup of tea. But something that happened yesterday got me to thinking about the soldiers who are, as we speak, risking their lives for our country. Think about this for a moment. Men, women, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, risking, and sometimes losing their lives, so that we may continue to live in freedom as spelled out in the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence.

I DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR (OR AFFIRM) THAT I WILL SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AGAINST ALL ENEMIES, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC; THAT I WILL BEAR TRUE FAITH AND ALLEGIANCE TO THE SAME; AND THAT I WILL OBEY THE ORDERS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE ORDERS OF THE OFFICERS APPOINTED OVER ME, ACCORDING TO REGULATIONS AND THE UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE. SO HELP ME GOD.

My father was a China Marine, my husband served in the Navy during Viet Nam. I live near, and work on a Naval Base. I have worked for a defense contractor, on the same program, for nearly 24 years. It goes without saying that my beliefs were formed by my upbringing and experiences in my life.

I have done my best to teach what I have learned to my children.

We were driving up to Brunswick on Sunday, and passed a convoy of trucks (Army). There were about thirty of them. I'm guessing that they were headed up to Ft. Bragg, for deployment to Iraq, or perhaps they were a group of reservists ready to do their annual 2 weeks of training. For this post, the reason doesn't matter.

[side note: Quite often when we go on long drives, my kids love to wave at the occupants in other cars. Nothing makes them happier than getting a wave back]

My husband and I were in the front seat. When I turned my head to the right, one of the drivers of a truck we were just passing was waving at us. I turned around, and saw that my children were busy waving, and signing "I love you." They continued to do that until we passed the last truck. Not all of them noticed, but those who did enthusiastically waved back.

Obviously, they are not old enough to know, nor understand the details of war. The one thing they do know is that these people protect us and keep us safe. And some lose their lives. I think they get it.

I read an article a few months ago that raised the question "is it possible to be against the war, but support the troops?" That's a fairly complicated question that I believe has more than one answer. It's my opinion that you don't necessarily have to support the war, in order to support the troops. I know it's simplistic, but if you want to get into further details, drop me a line, or leave a comment.

Let's face it, most of us aren't "for war". Some of us believe what we are doing in Iraq is necessary. I am one of them, but the reasons are not important. What we need to focus on are our soldiers. They have signed up to protect our country, and that is what they are doing.

And I for one, am grateful. They are ensuring a future for my children.