God bless America.

so as i was driving on base from church today, the lady at the front gate checked my i.d., gave me a generic greeting, and then slipped in that, "we are in real world force protection condition {fpcon} bravo." {which means there is an increased and more predictable threat of terrorist activity.} i didn't give it a second thought until i was halfway home and i realized what she had actually said. {usually we are in fpcon alpha which is just the general, everyday possibility of a terrorist attack.} i'll be honest, i got a little nervous. i talked to zachary and told him the situation and asked if i should be scared. being the good husband he is, he replied no, told me not to worry about it and just to lock my doors. haha! i was curious as to why the sudden change in fpcon though and now i know:

osama bin laden is dead!!!

i've been watching the news for the last two hours and i am impressed at the response that this breaking news has gotten. here it is 2:30 a.m. and there are thousands of people outside the white house chanting and cheering about their love for this country. there is another group at ground zero singing the national anthem and waving our country's flag. i've heard from a new york lady that lived in the area around the twin towers. she was there when the planes hit. she saw people jumping from buildings and has been scarred since and feels justice from the death of this man. i've heard from a new york fireman that was there the day that the twin towers were hit and he conveyed his pride in our country and our brave troops in conquering the al qaeda leader. a national security official declared this as, "the best day of his life." i've seen numerous facebook statuses of excitement and gratitude in this news. {my favorite being from my sister-in-law, arika...."America: "I see your royal wedding and raise you 1 OSAMA BIN LADEN". England: *fold*"}

i don't understand all the details about this war and why we hate osama completely. everything i've learned has been from one night when zachary got on a "let's culture sarah" kick and proceeded to tell me everything i need to know about osama bin laden, al qaeda, saddam hussein, terrorism, etc. yes, i am very sheltered and naive. i will own up to that. but in all of this, i feel overwhelmed and almost emotional at how blessed i feel to live in this country. i am not being subject to a leader that is raising terrorism and killing thousands of innocent people. i can be whatever religion i want. i can go to school if i want to...or i can choose not to. the point is that i even have a choice! i have fresh food sitting in grocery stores, right at my fingertips. i have clean, running water. i can light a room with the flip of a switch. i can say anything i want and not be punished for it. as a woman, i am considered an equal to a man. most of all, i can feel safe. i am so grateful to live in a country that offers me these everyday freedoms that i take for granted so readily. i'm sure that any of you can agree that life is hard sometimes, but take a minute and realize how good we really have it.

God bless America.

-the wife