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Freedom
I was waiting to board the plane from Salt Lake City to Dallas/Fort Worth, and I saw a woman dressed in fatigues. An older gentleman walked across the waiting area, took her hand in both of his, and thanked her for her service. I always tell my kids that we should be thankful for our troops and their sacrifice. We should shake their hands and graciously thank them for their service. A few parents at the kids' school are in the military. I see one father in particular nearly every afternoon, dressed in his fatigues, meeting his kindergartener. I've never had the opportunity to thank him from my minivan in the pick-up lane. And it would be unseemly, no matter how well-intentioned,

Oh, like, WOW! He'll be Homecoming King and you'll be Homecoming Queen!
I was almost 16 when the phone calls started. I don't know why. I don't recall handing out my phone number or asking him to call. He just did. Every single night at 9:00 P.M. Sharp. Regardless of where he was or what he was doing, he always called.Sounds rather creepy when I type it out, but it was all rather sweet in reality. I don't remember a single thing we talked about. Just that the conversation didn't seem forced or uncomfortable. After all, we were both nerds, technically. He was a Jock Nerd, so the Quiz Bowl and Math Bee stink didn't stick to him as much as it did to me. My parents allowed no dating until 16, so my first boyfriend was limited to

I survived
I did it. I got on an airplane. Not once, not twice, but four separate times. I did it all alone. And I didn't even die. Not one time.My fear of flying is deeply embedded. My first flight was to Washington, D.C. the summer before 7th grade. My Dad flies all the time and never shows an ounce of fear because, well, he's not afraid. My Mom? White knuckles, all the way. I couldn't reconcile how Dad was so nonchalant while Mom was practically hyperventilating with her eyes squeezed shut for a solid two and a half hours. The flight wasn't actually that bad. The return trip? A little rougher. We flew over a thunderstorm, and the pilot kept climbing t