I have to admit that I was really sad to see, that of the over 45 blogs that I read frequently of friends, family, and acquaintances, not ONE of them did a Veteran's Day blog. No one even MENTIONED it. I'm a bit hurt by that, especially when so many of those bloggers have family and friends who either have served or are currently serving. These men and women really deserve our respect and should be shown a little bit of it, if only once a year, especially if they are your family! I know we are all busy, or ill, or had something better to do or forget and what not, but you have the right to do all those things in freedom because of these men and women. Once a year isn't too much to ask.
I know that living near a military base gives you a much bigger opportunity to celebrate it, what with it's parades and days off work/school and all the kids having to do Veteran's Day letters and projects, the entire community comes out and celebrates in the biggest way each year. Not to mention the Soldiers that live here (retired and active) and their families come out in full force. Not all of your communities have that, however, a little word here or there to acknowledge the day would have been nice.
As a family we spent the day going to a parade down the main street and hanging out as a family. It was really nice! Not only did they have the normal high school and middle school marching bands, little cheer leaders and dance teams, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and local government officials, they had a GREAT Army marching band, Veteran's past and present, Purple Heart recipients, a cool old WWII era jeep and motorcycle, Calvary Soldier's on horse (think John Wayne in "She wore a Yellow Ribbon") prancing down the street in old uniforms, with sabers on, JROTC, and then of course or men and woman serving each branch. A company of Soldier's from each branch of the military, Army 1st of course..lol..then Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy followed up by local police. It was a really cool parade and I always appreciate seeing it. I was so proud of Matthew and Mikey, as they both clapped and yelled out "Thank you!!!" over and over and over to the Vets, Cody was being a bit sour...and actually yelled out to the Girl Scout's "YOU SUCK" to which he was promptly reprimanded for, I asked him later why he was so mean to them and he said "Ashley in my class is a girl scout Mom, and she has COOTIES!" , he said it so matter of factly I couldn't be too mad, we did however discuss how rude that was and that it was not acceptable...cooties or not! lol
I get teary eyed seeing the men and women who serve to protect our freedoms, young and old. Seeing the pride on the Soldier's faces, the tears in the eyes of the wives who stand by their men, and the smiles and excitement on the children's faces as they see their parent or loved one marching perfectly with his or her comrades in arms. I can never seem to get over how true the bumper sticker is that says "If you can read, thank a teacher, if you can read this in English, thank a Soldier".
I wish I had posted this so much sooner, maybe it would have inspired some of my friends to remember what an important day it is, whether or not you know someone who has or is serving, and whether or not you live near a base or your community celebrates it in a large or small way. I know military is a huge part of my life, so maybe I'm up on my soap box here, but I think that when you have the rights we do as Americans, that we should ALL make sure we thank those who stand up and give us those rights, at least once a year.................... I hope I haven't offended anyone, I love you all. I just think that if we can blog about such silly things as surveys on ourselves, or the funny things our kids say and recipes of the week...we can remember to mention our Veterans just once a year.
