I miss my brother. Somedays I wonder why it is so easy to go about my every day life as if nothing is wrong when in the back of my mind I can't get over the fact that our country is at war and my brother is on a ship further away than I ever imagined possible at the center of this war.

There are so many opinions about this war, I see the protestors on tv and I am thankful that I live in a place like Fargo, North Dakota where the only people protesting are college kids, and there aren't even very many of those. I can drive down the street and see people proudly flying flags, not burning them. I am thankful that I don't live in a place where I would have to fight through crowds due to people protesting a war that my brother and many others are risking their lives for.

I can't and won't believe that my brother is in danger for an unjust cause. I can't and won't believe that the American lives that we have lost so far are for nothing. I am not a republican but I am proud to support our President and I am proud to be an American and I am thankful that there are brave men and women who are willing to put their lives at risk for the safety of others. I don't think that anyone wants to go to war but I do believe that there are times when it is unavoidable.

So I go about my daily life, washing dishes, going to work, playing games with the kids. I wonder what life is like in Iraq, what is it like to be a mom in Iraq today? My heart is heavy for them because I can't even imagine the fear of not knowing what tomorrow will bring. But I have to believe that someday in the distant future, when my grandchildren are sitting in their history class, they will see a picture of the planes flying off of the USS Abraham Lincoln and they will know that their great-uncle was on that ship and they will be proud to know that he had a small part in helping to make this world a better place. Maybe someday women in Iraq will be able to spend a Saturday grumbling about how much laundry they have left to do and why on earth can't their children stop slamming the screen door as they go out to play without a fear of what tomorrow will bring. Until that day I hold in my heart the wish that my brother, and all of the men and women overseas will come home safe to a crowd of people, not protesting what they did but thanking them for a job well done.

This photo is of my little brother Gilbert
taken a few weeks before he left
on deployment July 21, 2002.