My parents, Grandma M and Grandpa DingDon live in a retirement community. A couple of years ago I went to their house on Memorial Day. As I turned the corner towards their house, I was overwhelmed. Why? Every house had a flag displayed.

I need to back up a little. I was just back from seeing my nephew, Sgt Red deploy to Iraq. Such an experience. It was my first time watching a deployment. Humbling to say the least.

So when I drove into the park and saw the flags, I basically broke down on the spot. It was just a very moving reminder that freedom is not free. You see, many of the people living in this community are Vets. My Dad, Grandpa DingDon is a World War II vet. He was a Navy Corpsman, who served at Pearl Harbor after the attack on 7 Dec 1941.

My daughter, Cinderella was serving on 9/11. My son is currently active duty Marines, just back from a 7 month deployment. My nephew, Sgt Red is about to deploy on his third deployment to yet another war zone.

This is hard, but not as hard for the families that lost loved ones. So, I appreciate the flags and effort that people take to put them out. If you are a Gold Star Family and you are reading this, be sure that your family member was not lost in vain to me.

Thank you for keeping my day free.

This is my favorite one. It is my parent’s flag. I like the reflection in the window.