Lest we forget

 

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

 

We are so privileged to live in a country that is safe. We don’t wake up to gunfire or suicide bombers or terrorists. We sleep soundly at night, knowing that the war is clear on the other side of the world and only touches us remotely or we may know someone who knows someone who was killed.

Both my grandfathers fought in WWII. My maternal grandfather died as a result of injuries he sustained in combat, about a year after he was sent home.  I have a dear friend who is a Vietnam Vet (he’s American) and I know the experience changed his life.  The day I was born, he was leaving his first tour of duty.

I can only pray my boys grow up never having to be soldiers, never having to fight in this country or another’s. I am both grateful for, and saddened by, the men and women who choose the military as their career and heartbroken for those we lose.

I am not “into” politics and I admit, I don’t understand alot of the reasons for the current war (this isn’t meant to start a huge debate) but I don’t see how there will ever be a “winner” or how it will ever “end”.

So for today, let’s remember the freedoms we have and what they cost and appreciate them and let’s hug those we love and be grateful we live here.