Today is Veteran’s Day. A day to honor all of those men and women past, present, and future that have given up their comforts of home to go to an unknown location and fight for the freedom we, as citizens, enjoy every day. A sacrifice for the nation of children, working class citizens, generations of love and peace. So many choose to leave family and friends home to gear up and risk everything.
It is also a day to honor the families and friends at home, scared, proud, and strong. These are people that stay home to continue the legacy their loved ones left behind. Hoping for another day to hold, kiss, touch, laugh with these brave men and women again. Children that will hopefully meet their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, or brothers, for the first time. Sisters, mothers, and grandmothers that will one day see their children again.
Honor our brave
Today is also a day to remember that these men and women fighting for our freedom, come home changed. They see, experience, and battle with not only the physical elements they face, but the emotional ones. Too many of our service members are coming home to lives that suddenly leave them behind. Coming home with visions and memories that they relive with a backfire of a car, dish dropping to the ground, and fireworks. Images of sights that the average citizen cannot fathom.
These men and women want to return home to a sense of normalcy. A chance to continue their lives as they once were before leaving our country. That is if they were lucky enough to return home without injury. The brave men and women that return after injury, tend to find themselves with more unnecessary obstacles.
It is also a time to remember and honor all of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Their strength and love that create the bridge so that we continue to live our lives as citizens. The families and friends that take the steps each day to respect and pay tribute to the loved ones lost.
Not just for today
Veterans Day is a day to remember, but so is every other day of the year. Every day we should think about, remember, reach out, hold onto, and care about our military families. We should be thanking them, honoring them, cherishing them each and every single day of the year. It is their brave sacrifice that keeps this nation free. Their lives, their minds, their hearts are on the line every second they are away from us.
I am proud of every man and woman, from our nation’s history through today and into all of the tomorrows to come. That we have these brave people choosing to fight for all of us. We may disagree on rights, politics, and beliefs. I hope that we would NEVER disagree on their brave sacrifice for our nation.
With great warmth,
