This post dedicated to....

I live near my parents. This you may know because I write about them all the time. We are in each other's lives every day. I speak with them, see them, share my feelings and thoughts with them, let them in on any news I hear, ask advice of them... every day.

I can't imagine what will happen when they die.

I know this is rather morbid to be thinking, but I so enjoy spending time with them. Apart from Adam, they are my best friends. My whole family is really close.

Tonight, as I sit here playing on the internet, I keep going back to thinking about them and just had to say what they mean to me.

My father is jovial and easy to get along with. He is a talker-- big time-- must be where I get it from. He has given his life to the service of others. He served in the United States Air Force and was in the Vietnam War as a Medic. He has never spoken about it much, but lately has given accounts of some of the pain and suffering he saw. Young soldiers giving their lives for Freedom. I am proud that he served and proud that he is a Vietnam Veteran. He has been in the fire service for over 30 years-- first as a Firefighter and for the past 30 years, as a Fire Marshal. He has pulled bodies from a burning car along the side of the highway, and has inspected hospitals and schools, making sure they are fire safe. He has been in the Boy Scouts of America since the 1960's. And has served in every capacity of Scouts, including Scout Master for many years. And he has served his family; he has given his love, time, and money to his children. I will always be grateful for the man who is my father.

My mother is an angel walking among us. She devoted her life to her children, and saw to it that they would be righteous, good people. When she saw a conflict in our lives, something that made us unhappy, she would do all she could to make it right. She home-schooled me from third grade to eighth grade, and taught me valuable lessons that I will take with me through this life and into the next. When I would come home from dates or being with friends, she would come downstairs and talk to me about my evening-- until the wee hours of the morning if I wanted to talk that long. Until I had said all I wanted to. She never made me feel that she had somewhere better to be. She made her home peaceful, safe, and happy for her family. And when she wasn't at home, she was serving others. She spent many years serving as Primary, Young Women's, and Relief Society president for our church and dedicated countless hours to making those organizations run smoothly and helping those that needed her. She is a Speech Pathologist and has worked with severely mentally disabled adults for many years. She possesses untold patience and kindness in helping these people learn the acts of swallowing, eating, and making articulate sounds. And she says it has been a pleasure to work with these people. She is never unkind or guileful. She is a pure, simple, loving, happy woman whom I am honored to call my mother.

Now, I must take their example and be all I can be to my own babies.

And I know they will help me.