Memorial Day is always some time right around my birthday. This year, it’s exactly on my birthday. So, in short, the day I’m supposed to celebrate being alive lines up with the day I can’t forget my brothers are dead. Until Valhalla. 

As far as life is concerned, I’m already “in the black,” and I’ve been blessed with much more than a lot of Veterans that have done just as much — and sometimes more than me — in service. (Actually, If you believe keyboard warriors, everyone has done more than me in service, and maybe because of my own life decisions I deserve the shit they talk.)

RuckPack has been around for nearly 12 years now. I started it by myself. I’ve had help from hundreds of people along the way, saw the company move through two other CEOs before getting it back, and had my own personal interest just below 20% (I think) before clawing my way back to 92% as it stands now. This company has been through some shit. We have inventory issues. I continue to write checks out of pocket to keep it going. It continues to cost more to make than the generic unhealthy shit that owns almost the entire energy shot market.

You know what though? I’m not dead. So I’ll keep finding a way to make it work. When we were deployed, we all talked a lot of shit about what we were going to do when we got out of the Corps. I don’t think any one of us wished to be some drone or otherwise hate our lives after getting out. So sometimes the obstacles with RuckPack feels like I’m getting kicked in the junk repeatedly — and again, I likely deserve it. But I’m still alive, and my family gets to talk to me instead of just looking at old pictures and telling stories of when I was around. I’ll take it.

Do me a solid and spend some time this Memorial Day thinking about those that didn’t make it home. Then, remember that whatever you’re going through, you’re still alive (and, don’t forget that that’s a good thing).