Two years ago on July 27, 2016, I had the honor and privilege of introducing President Obama at the Democratic National convention in Philadelphia. What an awesome experience that was!! An event I will never forget. And I received my sixth presidential hug that evening, too. This “sweet little old lady” was truly blessed.
 
My book telling all about my experiences as a Gold Star Mother is almost finished.  I’m fine tuning and then will send it to be proof-read, a necessary step to getting published. A special thank you to my sister Eileen, to Teresa and Ernie, my mentors, and to so many who inspired stories that are a part of the book. Keep watching – hope to have good news by late Fall.

The hot and humid summer days have kept me in more than I like, but it also kept me busy with my book. That was good. I’m pretty much finished… just have to revise and edit. And then the hard part—get it published. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I’m so grateful to my sister Eileen for her encouragement and getting me started on this journey. It is a tribute to my son and the gifts I have realized from his ultimate sacrifice. And hopefully, an acknowledgment of the kinds of things all Gold Star Families experience.

May brought the Ohio Flags of Honor to Rossford. Don and I had been to this memorial program on two occasions and decided to bring it to Rossford. It was a very special weekend remembering each and every soldier from Ohio who has died in Iraq or Afghanistan or the War on Terror. A flag, specially identified for each one of them (299 of them) was placed in a Field of Honor next to the NECA building on Lime City Road. In addition, there were approximately 500 other flags donated by organizations who wanted to be a part of this program. It was beautiful, almost 800 flags flying in the breeze. This will be an annual event from now on.