Over 4,000 Americans have lost their lives in Iraq. They were the sons and daughters of mothers and fathers. As a mother, I am devastated, absolutely devastated at the thought. I can't imagine losing my baby in Iraq. The thought of losing my baby, my boy, anywhere is almost more than I can bear. My son is the light of my life. He is a good, solid and honorable boy -- though he has his moments. He's only six, after all. But he is my friend, my helpmate, my muse. He inspires me to be a better person and to always do the right thing. And he certainly doesn't deserve to die in an ill-conceived war in Iraq.

My heart goes out to all the mothers (and fathers) who have lost their children in Iraq. Hey, my heart goes out to the Iraqi moms and dads as well -- they are losing their children at a faster clip than we're losing ours, and not much is being accomplished in the process. EVERYONE over there is far less safe than when this whole mess started. When will we say "enough!" Truly, I thought we'd all close ranks and bring the kids home when the American death toll passed 2,000. It was a huge, inconceivable number to me at the time and yet, we got to 3,000 and now 4,000 dead. This is simply too much to bear.

Yep, it's hard on me but nowhere near as hard as it must be on the mothers and fathers whose shining, bright light has been snuffed out.