A Sobering Thought

Hello all! I hope life is treating all of you well during this wonderful fall season we're experiencing. The weather is great, and Huntsville, Alabama has some of the most wonderful colors and scenes anyone could hope to see. I truly hope everyone is doing well.

My blog tonight is a bit of a "debbie downer", but I like to share with others whenever I have a personal revelation. In the last 24 hours, I've learned of a family who has suffered an absolute tragic loss by losing a young child. Without going into details, it's a loss that is just completely unexpected and uncalled for. On top of that, I read an excerpt from my father's writing about his time in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm in the early '90's. I'll never forget the day my father picked me up from school, unexpectedly, and informed me he was going off to war. My heart sank as I immediately began to worry about his safety. I can remember the night the war actually started. I was in 9th grade, supposed to be doing homework, my mother was working night shift at the hospital and I was home alone. I remember listening to Wolf Blitzer on CNN broadcasting live from a hotel lobby that was in the middle of the fight. I was scared out of my mind!! Where was my father? I hope he's okay! Back then we didn't have e-mail.....a letter took 3-4 weeks to travel overseas from Saudi Arabia to Mobile, Alabama. When he left America he was taller than me. When he got home, I was taller than him. Alot happened during those months he was gone, but thank God I always knew he loved me.

That leads me back to the unfortunate passing of a child. I knew my dad loved me no matter what may have happened while he was in the war. And I know this child knew his family loved him. BUT, can we ever love our kids too much??? Can we ever let them know enough how much we love them????? I say no. My day started at 6am this morning and finished at 8:30pm. I was doing reports until that time. However, I took a full hour to let my boys jump on me, beat me up, kick me in the head, slobber on me.......you get the point. I'm not bragging or anything like that. I know most of you who take the time to read this stuff do the same thing. My point is to never let up. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOUR KIDS KNOW HOW MUCH THEY ARE LOVED. You can NEVER overdo it. They watch our every moves and worship the ground we walk on. Also, for those who have older children, make sure they talk to you. If they're having trouble at school or with some so called "friends", find out what they're dealing with and let them know you're there for them. You may think this is coming out of left field, but trust me, I don't think anything I've said can be overstated.

It's 11:35pm and when I go to bed in a second, my 4 year old is going to roll over and basically sleep on top of me the rest of the night. (I know Iknow, he needs to be in his own bed......but we're going through being scared of monsters and I'm a softy.) I hope he understands how much he is loved.........thank you God for such wonderful gifts!

Reece