Homecomings

Saturday night, I made the mistake of pulling up a bunch of these videos. Actually, I think I watched just about every one of them available on Youtube.com, including the "Man's Best Friend"-ones.

I'm a sucker for these videos and without fail, they make me bawl.

I posted this video because the very first one is my favorite.The little girl, probably not even two years old, throwing her arms around her daddy's neck and almost incredulously telling him "Hi, Daddy," a couple of times before saying, "I miss you," and a beat later, "I love you."

It makes me laugh, and mostly it makes me cry. (I watched it again, and have to get under control before I'm spilling tears onto my desk.) Sniff.

I can't believe how many fathers and mothers who volunteer to serve their country in lieu of being with their families. They miss the births, the first birthdays, football games, and any number of milestones throughout their children's lives as they commit to putting their own in danger for the sake of their families, yes, but also, for every American in our country. There are videos of fathers meeting their babies for the first time, six or seven months or a whole year later.

It's incredible.

And I can't help but watch these videos and see their sacrifices, and think that I should probably be taking their place. I don't have any aspirations to be in the armed forces, but at the same time, I don't have a family at home depending on me. I kind of feel selfish. And then I remember that I'd never make it through boot camp, and all my good intentions fly out the window.

So instead, I'll just try not to watch these for a while, so I can get a grip. And I'll be sure to make everyone in the armed forces know how much I appreciate the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.

God bless them and their families.