Subject: A Love Letter to My Warrior on Memorial Day

Each Memorial Day, as American families are taking the first dip of the summer in swimming pools and picnicking, husbands, fathers and brothers are traversing enemy terrain around the world, dodging the slings and arrows of war and working overtime to keep our nation safe and prosperous.

Mothers, sisters and daughters are maintaining their households, providing for their children and serving as pillars of leadership and shining examples of civic duty in their communities.

Sometimes even when we are blessed to be with our loved ones, cherishing the very fact that they are alive, and that we can see and feel and touch them in the flesh, the circumstances are fundamentally different from those in your typical household.

In early 2005, my husband had just returned from the Helmand province of Afghanistan after an IED exploded under his vehicle just after Christmas Day, severing both of his legs. We would go through a life-changing process entailing unimaginable trauma.

But from the pain and anguish of the physical therapy process, to the mental scars, to the sheer disruption of moving to five homes in four months in four states, we were in it together.

For those of us who are married to these patriots and heroes, Memorial Day is another reminder of our mission.

While we may be physically separated for months or years on end, our hearts and minds could never be closer. Sacrifice emerges as the predominant theme this time each year. For just as our "quiet professionals" overseas sacrifice for the nation, we sacrifice for them.

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