In Florida Again

We bought a home in Fort Myers, Florida, March 2005, almost 2 years ago. Five months before Tommy was killed in Iraq. We had planned on spending most of the cold months here. That was before that tragic day in August, 2005. We had gotten homesick for our granddaughters before, but now it is even worse when we are gone. They are Tommy's daughters, Danielle almost 13 and Alexandra who will be 9 in February on my birthday the 22nd. Last year when we came down our daughter Jennie was there in Flint and helped their mother on days that she worked late and the girls needed picked up at school.
This year Jennie is in Germany at Landstul, at the Army hospital where the severely wounded are sent on their way back stateside. She was to be there for a year in support of Iraqi Freedom with the Navy Reserves. They have asked her to extend another year......So....She is not available to help as last year. A friend is helping on the long days. They seem to be doing okay with that, however they miss us as much as we miss them.
The majority of the time that we have spent at the new home in Florida has been remodeling. We have made a lot of improvements which has added value to the property. We hope now to either rent it out or sell it. The reason is, we no longer have the desire to be away from the granddaughters so long at a time and life without our son and their father has taken the ideals of retirement away from us. There are many casualties of war besides the one who was killed. The politicians have been debating whether we need to send more troops or not to Iraq. They have lost sight of the mission. It is better for them as the citizens in general have lost the stomach to press on to victory. Where would we be today if our forefathers had given up. We would not have the liberty that we have. Politicians on both sides of the isle have lost sight of goal, have lost sight of the mission, have lost sight of what is best for the United States. There are more casualties at home (wives, husbands, children, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters plus extended family) which shortly after the interment of the military person have been forgotten by the politicians. All they can do is quote numbers i.e. a new milestone (3000 killed) as if the president is responsible. The mainstream news media plays into the hand of the liberal agenda and abets the anguish of the citizens. The inflections they place on words or phrases barely falls short of incitement. I seldom watch the national networks because they only tell the side of a story that they want told. Mostly a liberal slant. There are so many good things happening with our soldiers in Iraq that never see the light of day through the press. The only thing they will report is the negative or anything that is against the moral fiber the country was founded on. Sad but true most people take what is reported as true and fact. If you don't believe me think about how many times you have received an email and forwarded without checking if it were a hoax. I always do my own research and never pass anything along until I know it is true and is worthy of forwarding. I was told a long time ago by a wise man, "don't believe anything you hear and only half of what your see."