respect

In addition to June 6, 1994 being the day my son, Morgan, was born, it was also the 50th Anniversary of D-Day. At the time of his birth, we made sure to pick up some books and publications about the anniversary for him so that he would some day understand the significance that the date of his birth shared with world history.

Turns out I had a lot to learn about "understanding the significance" of that date as well .... and I don't kid myself that I will ever be able to fully comprehend it.

When Bob and I took our cruise last June, we were fortunate enough to spend a day in Normandy, France -- we visited both the landing beaches and the American cemetery. The photo at the top is a monument built on the sand of Omaha Beach. The writing at the top is in French with the English translation below:

The allied forces landing on this shore which they call Omaha Beach
liberate Europe -- June 6th, 1944

Our visit to the American cemetery was gut-wrenching. Grave after grave after grave with the same date of death -- June 6th, 1944 -- it taught me something about what the word "sacrifice" really means.

During our visit, I walked through much of the cemetery and whispered "thank you" to each gravesite I passed -- I felt completely overwhelmed by both the courage of those who died and the loss of humanity represented there.