Summer Freedom

She is sick with a fever now.  And as her little body fights whatever infection that's trying to take over, she lays there silent, aching, and fast asleep.

But her days aren't always like this.  Her days are filled with Sunshine, Laughter, and every bit of mommy trying to capture it.  She reads.  She plays.  She sings.  She dances.  She's a baby turned little girl and her heart is ready to flaunt it.  She is my little girl.

And each Summer, she has days filled with Red, White and Blue, where hot dogs, fireworks, and good ol' fashion picnics make some of the tough things in life disappear for just a moment.

Summer has brought out the sunshine in her.  The kind that radiates more than just a light, but that radiates a beauty so stunningly designed from her little button nose to her edible toes.  Summer exposed a glimpse at the woman she will become.

And Summer will teach her an appreciation for her Country.  Because we are free...

And while there are millions still yet to discover a freedom that not even this Country can try to define, we will spend the rest of our days Thankful for the freedom we have and strive for the Freedom for others.

And Summer touched not just the skin of a little soul, but a growing soul that still tenderly strives to understand more of a Love she's been gifted to embrace and share.  This Summer has more in store for me than any Summer before, but as it began with a thankful heart for the lives that granted me Freedom, it continues on with the fight to free other's from a bond that my own words can't do justice.

So yes, I'll take the pretty Summer days with my little one, while striving hard to never forget those who were before me, those around me now, and those who have yet to come.