Considering the cost of military life

I looked at the recently published military death tolls in Iraq and Afghanistan and considered the ongoing cost of military life.

We salute our military men and women for the hard work and sacrifice that go along with protecting our country. The sacrifice is great. The hours are long. They move from place to place, are sent to war at a moment's notice, leave behind a spouse and children for long periods of time and hope that things will be okay. The phone calls and e-mails are brief if they come at all.

And the men and women know they can't return home for birthdays, school plays, runny noses or high fevers. They leave behind spouses, children, mothers and fathers. Only a completed tour or the death of an immediate family member will allow them to return home.

I am one of the many military spouses who has shed tears on deployments, praised God on returns, prayed at night that God would keep my spouse safe. I am one of the many, assuring my children that God will protect. I support my spouse, yet I don't like war. We have lost a lot, but we still have our freedom, right?