Memorial Day Thanks
I hope this weekend finds all of you well and enjoying your holiday weekend. This is the week we celebrate Memorial Day in the United States. It is a time of remembering all of those men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.
It is also a time, at least in my mind, to stop and remember all of the folks who are currently serving. Some time ago, not too long after 9/11, I found myself looking for a way to do something to support our troops. It was during that time that I stumbled upon the Any Soldier website, and my life was never again the same. The site is a place where our troops sign up for being the contact person for a group and agreeing they will disperse care package items. I took on a few contacts from my state at the time. Soon my dining room began to look like a Wal-Mart store. Every time I went to the store, I picked up a few items for my packages. The needs vary so much from what folks ask for, from every day things we take for granted, to just simply letters from home. It is a way to remind them that they are not forgotten and that we care. Through this activity, I also met some great military bloggers. The entire experience gave me back so much more than I could have ever done for any of them. If you’re looking for a way to get involved and say you remember them, this is a great site to check out.
While our troops do need our support, I also believe there is an unsung heroes group in our military—the spouses and children. The spouses hold things together during deployments, becoming both parents, doing all of the things around the house, and all the while worrying about their spouse who is gone. It’s tough on kids as well. When you are saying your thanks this weekend, don’t forget to remember this group. I’ve just started working with a great organization that does support for spouses called Wings 4 Women. Check out their site as well if you have a minute. As someone who grew up in a military household, I am so glad there are things like this for spouses. My mother didn’t have that and I’m sure it would have helped her along that journey.
For me personally, this post today is simply to say thank you to our military, the ones serving directly as well as their families. I know we have military spouses on our blog here, so guys please pass on this thanks, for you and for your spouse. We have so much to be grateful for in our country and a big part of that is our freedom. Without the sacrifices you make every single day of your lives, we couldn’t say that. Thanks for all you do. For those who are deployed, may you have safety and soon return to your families and friends.
Have a wonderful weekend.
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Tagged with: Memorial Day • military spouses • military thanks
Filed under: Holidays
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Your “AnySoldier” involvement is a good way to say that our soldiers are remembered–more than just this 1 day a year, and I think it is a great idea.
Last year, one of the local churches put up a little notice saying their recent project was preparing packages for soldiers overseas, but what they wanted was very specific: items like 1 washcloth, bar soap, batteries, etc. I think there were 10 or 12 items, but to me there was nothing personal about it, and nothing about it said, “I’m thinking about you and missing you.” You know what I mean? It was almost like they were going into basic training where you get into a line and they hand you a prescribed number of outerwear,underwear, socks, boots, etc., and everyone gets exactly the same. I’ve always thought it would be nicer to get a soldier’s name and address, begin correspondence, and then maybe at intervals during the year send a package that could contain things that would be more meaningful to that individual.
Anyway, I guess there are merits to sending anything to our fighting men and women that will let them know someone is at least thinking of them, even we don’t know anything about them, including their names.
I hope everyone will take time out to express their gratitude for all the privileges and freedoms we have in our country. If it weren’t for the price paid by soldiers (of all kinds) in the past, we wouldn’t have them. If you are fortunate enough to have a Veterans’ Hospital/Home near you, maybe you can stop in and just shake hands with some of them who are able, let them know that they aren’t forgotten, even if you aren’t “family” who have come to visit them.
Have a great weekend!
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Thanks, Kathy, for a very poignant tribute to our military. This weekend I salute all those men and women serving today, as well as the veterans who have served like my husband (24-year Navy veteran). God bless all of you!
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