April 7, 2007 was the day my whole world stopped; this was the day my older brother Brandon went to Iraq. It was the first day I heard my dad cry and it was just the beginning of many sleepless nights for my mom. For me, it was the day I had to say goodbye to my brother, not knowing if I would ever see his face again. For fifteen months my family’s lives were put on hold.
June 7, 2008 was the day my world was put back together and was truly the best day of my life; it was the day I watched Brandon's boots touch American soil as he stepped off the plane. Unfortunately, the war was not over and our family had no idea what we were about to face. Dealing with Brandon being gone was hard, but not being able to understand and help him when he was home was almost harder.
The day Brandon left for Iraq was the day my family tied a yellow ribbon outside of our house, it not only symbolized Brandon’s absence from our home, but it also symbolized the support we had for our troops. The yellow ribbon is a national symbol for supporting our troops and that is why it is such a vital component in my blog.
It is imperative that our nation starts to recognize our troops not only for their service, but recognizing that they need our help when they come home. My blog is not about supporting the war, it is simply about supporting our troops, who are the men and women who keep us safe at home.
"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership." Colin Powell.
