Ukraine....

 Ukraine.....

Firstly, I and Prince were able to go visit our Eldest and her tribe. It started out as a short visit, 6 or 7 days but extended to 10 days, and finally settled on two weeks. That is how it always goes. We are EXTREMELY lucky that "baby girl" and her Prince Charming welcome us into their abode and actually encourage us to stay! My eldest and I are always questioned either "how can you have your mom stay for so long?" or "how can you stay at your daughter's for so long"? They cannot fathom that we meld together to make, what other countries do seamlessly, a cohesive household that works as a team whenever we are blessed to be together. We are always begging each other to extend the time that we get to share. It is sweet and more than I could hope for.

We were loving our time together when speculation started that Russia, a country I grew up in as it was transitioning from arch enemy to something different, decided to invade Ukraine. The big glaring difference in the world,  now as opposed to several years ago, is that we get to see the strength and patriotism of that country as they are pummeled by a raging lunatic. The stories that are coming out of Ukraine are absolutely mind-boggling of strength and courage. As we, the United States, take United out of our name and instead argue if boys should wear dresses and who really is oppressed, this country (Ukraine) is super-glued together in one mission, to save their God-given freedoms. Their President is a reminiscence of Ronald Reagan's years where we had a sense of patriotism and a sense of history and were inspired by everything our President said and how he lead us. Their President, instead of flying away in a convoy with all his riches, is standing ground with his people going toe to toe with Russia. Their men are real men standing guard on the streets of their homes as they send their women and children to safety. Stories of how one man lost his whole unit and is standing guard alone at a bridge. How a man has to tell his 4-year-old son to board the train while he stays behind to fight. How people rush to a civilian who was merely driving down the road when a tank veered over, with purpose, to run over his car and flatten it. He, by the grace of God, lived despite his WHOLE vehicle being flattened. The pictures of women taking up arms and families being reunited. It is incredible. 

My Littlie "Olive branch" is a social media star in her own right. She said that it feels so wrong when people are posting pics of their food or whimsical things when such a tragedy is happening. She knows life has to go on and for business owners, it is a necessary evil, but it seems so trivial. She echoes what I have said to the Littlies for several years. That is, life seems hard but someone always has it harder. And to compare what we might be encountering from day to day is nothing compared to the Ukrainians. 

Their country has a glaring reminder of why we keep our history. Why we don't take down statues and eliminate traditions. Why we don't replace truth with theory. Why being a good citizen helps us to keep our freedoms and being a bad citizen helps us lose our freedoms. Why a President who is clearly suffering from some sort of dementia and has a long-standing record of arrogance (know your history folks!) (and others so called leaders who are anti-American) is the quickest way of diminishing the very freedoms people have EARNED. Ukraine spotlights what we have had in the past and as they unite to keep the freedoms they have earned and are fighting for, we would be wise to take note.

Done and done.

Go and do and say a day of prayer for those braves souls for that could be us in the near future.