Day 10 - Blue Star Flag!

Tonight I attended, child-free (WOOT), our post's "Blue Star Card" kickoff! The Blue Star Card is given to spouses of deployed soldiers to use for various discounts around post. The Blue Star program also host several events each month where they provide childcare for free! Movies, Bunco, Bowling, etc ...

Tonight's kickoff was held at the post bowling alley. I am NOT a bowler! Now several of my friends can attest to that fact :)! I bowled a whopping 67! No, I did not forget to type the 1 before the 67 ... it was just a 6 and a 7! I had a wonderful time with my friends and the kids had a great time in the childcare! So much fun that one of them cried when they saw me coming! Those kind of reactions are sure to warm a mother's heart!

I assume the "Blue Star" is a reference to this flag here. If you have a family member deployed you are suppose to place it in your window until they return. Your flag can have several stars if you have several family members deployed. It always takes my breath away to pass a house with a Blue Star flag in the window with multiple stars. You may also see one with a Gold Star, those families have a loved one that has given the ultimate sacrifice - their life. That's another breath taking site.

I wikipedia'd (yes, I just made up that word) the history of the flag and here's what wiki has to say:

"The banner was designed in 1917 by United States Army Captain Robert L. Queisser of the Fifth Ohio Infantry, in honor of his two sons who were serving in World War I.^[2] It was quickly adopted by the public and by government officials. On September 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman read into theCongressional Record:

The mayor of Cleveland, the Chamber of Commerce and the Governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother — their children."

I thought over that last line there ... "The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother - their children." I would never want to send my precious "B" to war. I miss M2 like crazy - but my son - My son? I cannot fathom! M2 is my protector. I worry about his safety but his protection is not my primary duty. My primary duty is to protect "B".

So the flag is really a symbol of the sacrifice that families are making in sending their soldiers to war. I wonder if parents who have had to send their children off to war feel like they have a small glimpse of what our freedom really cost God?

(If any of you computer savvy people want to tell me WHY those last 2 paragraphs would not align right - that'd be swell!)