Today is the third anniversary of one of the worst days of my life.

My mother died three years ago today. She was a woman of incredible strength and will to live. She died after a long battle with breast cancer, 20 days after her younger sister died, also of breast cancer. She outlived every estimate of life expectancy given. After he first diagnosis, she was told, "maybe five years, tops". That was in 1982. She lived to see five more grandchildren, the continued successes of her children, and the ups and downs that life brings.

I miss her terribly. But she had a good life, a full life, a long life.

I missed most of the run-up to the Iraq was. I was working 50 yours a week. I have a husband and two kids. Cooper City Optimist baseball season was beginning. I was driving 200 miles to Melbourne every other weekend to spend time with my mom and lend moral support to my dad. Most of my life from September 2002 until March 2003 is pretty much a blur.

We were all home the 10 days before my mom's death - my sister and two brothers and me - no kids, no spouses - the first time we had spent this much time together since I left home in 1976.

We all started out as republicans. My dad is retired military, very conservative, and supports junior in an unwavering fashion. In the journeys through our lives, my brothers and I have become Democrats; at different times, and for different reasons, we came to the conclusion that the republican party did not represent us. My sister's drinking the Kool-Aid.

Some of us support the war, and some of us are completely against it. I'm the oldest, and have vivid memories of VietNam. I'm pretty much a pacifist and have raised a son who is as well. He's 19. I've grown quite fond of him over the years, and would like to keep him around for a while longer. My brothers share my sentiments. I love my sister dearly, but sometimes I just want to slap her - "We need to keep fighting this war on terror" and "Well, he IS the president, and he knows more about these things than I do".

Daddy gave up CNN in mid-2002 because they became "much too liberal". If he doesn't have golf on TV, it's the republican news channel. So my last few memories of this country "not at war" came with a horrendous right-wing slant.

This ridiculous, stupid, illegal, immoral war started three years ago today. Why? I can't keep up with the changing reasons. I know in my heart, as most of you do, that the real, unspoken (by this mis-administration) reason is for oil, not necessarily who owns it but who controls it.

I also know that 2318 American servicemen and women have been killed, and 16,653 have been injured, for no good reason.

I'm tired of the war. I'm tired of being lied to. I'm tired of losing the future of this once-great country. Most of all, I'm tired of our children being killed in an illegal and immoral war for no good reason. The sign in the trunk of my car reads "No more mothers' children".

So in honor of my mother, I'm going to get my sign out a join some fine folks in Fort Lauderdale. I'm going to celebrate the memory of her life by trying save the lives our youth.

edit because I can't spell/type

I got a call from the hospital and it was from her. She had driven there and they checked her in. She had a sharp pain in her right side.

They told me it was "pleurisy". This went on for a couple of weeks. Turns out it was metastasized cancer of the lung (point of origin unknown; suspected ovarian) and she was told she had less than 6 months to live.

It was God awful as I had to deal with it (everyone else "checked out" so to speak).

My mother died about 3 months later at the age of 78 years. So today is a sad day for me too. :(

I feel your pain. Hang in there and as for all of the freeps in your life, stay the hell away from them if you can. :hug:

My younger son was leaving for a student exchange in Italy. We saw the first bombs hit on television just as we were leaving for the airport. His flight was diverted hundreds of miles off course over Scotland out into the Irish Sea because of the B-52s flying out of England headed for Iraq. His first day in Italy was the day the schools closed and the students went into the streets to protest the war.

Yesterday my first grandson was born and I am more determined than ever, desperate maybe, to get this country back for him. All the words that have been written and spoken against this madness have done nothing. It is time for real action.