Selflessness

     As some of you know, I am currently deployed, and because of this I have received a few packages in the mail from American citizens who would like to support the troops. Each package that I receive is amazing I appreciate everything that they send me and everything that I get, I share with my other troops. The act of making the effort to go out of your way and send items to those service members that are deployed to a combat zone is, in my opinion, nothing short of amazing and in its own regard a terrific act of selflessness. However, I would like to highlight a particular instance. I got a package a few weeks ago and I looked at the address and saw that it was from somebody that I had never met. I opened it and saw that it was three individually wrapped bags of candy. I want to make it clear that it was a lot of candy, this box was stuffed. Also enclosed was a letter from the sender, it said this; "Hello, My name is Jessica I am 11 and my brothers Matthew and Mason and I wanted to send our halloween candy  to you because we know that you probably don't have any. Thank you for fighting for our country, and we hope you make it back safe to see your family." In case, you didn't catch it, this young girl went trick or treating and sent me her halloween candy and the candy of her little brothers as well (judging by the picture that they included Matthew looked about 8 and Mason looked about 4). Now it is hard for me to believe that this idea was entirely her own, but I imagine it might have been sparked by her parents. But, regardless I think that what Jessica, Matthew and Mason did was amazingly selfless. I would never have dreamed that I would receive anything like this, I was a kid and I have a six year old son, I know how much candy means to a kid and how much they look forward to trick-or-treating. I would never ask my son or daughter to give up their spoils to someone halfway across the world, whom they have never and would probably never meet. I don't know how to describe what I felt when I read the letter and saw the picture, except to say that I was grateful. I was grateful, not so much for the candy, (although it was delicious) but more for the thought and the people behind it. They say that actions speak louder than words and in this situation they were screaming at me reminding me that there are people left in this country that would give up what is important to them, to give to those that go without. People that have never been deployed in a combat situation could never fully understand what we go through, but I was grateful to be reminded that although at times I may lose faith in the country that I fight for, there are still people worth fighting for.