Once again, Ryan is on 24-hour duty at the hospital. So, this evening, Hannah, Ben and I drove down the hill to have dinner with him in the hospital dining room. Hannah especially enjoys visiting daddy at work. She loves to look around for buttons to push. She pushes every one in sight --- the automatic door buttons and the elevator buttons. No button goes unpushed!
This evening, as we were cleaning up our messy table after eating with toddlers, I noticed "a table for two" that was set with gold utensils and had a sign that said "RESERVED." I thought to myself that this table must be reserved for high ranking officers. When I asked Ryan about it, however, I learned that it is actually a table reserved for men and women who are missing at war. The table is always set as a reminder to us of these POWs who are still living. How touched I was (and still am) to hear that these soldiers are remembered daily with such respect and hope. They are never forgotten here at Camp Pendleton.
The longer that we are stationed here at Pendleton, the more I can see how the war in Iraq impacts family, friends and coworkers on a daily basis. As I write this, in our own neighborhood there are atleast six houses that have "Welcome Home" banners hanging on the front porch.
God bless the men and women who are putting their lives on the line in Iraq. My prayer is that more and more of them will return home to their families soon.
