Have you ever

Have you ever thanked a Veteran? You know, as sad as it is, I never had until my husband joined the Army. I have a lot of military in my family. I guess I just never really sat down and thought about it. I never really thought about the sacrifice that these men and women make for us. Even in peace time, they gave of their time and served too.

I remember when the first Gulf War started. I came home from school, and my dad was sitting in the living room. He then told me that we were at war. I started to cry, and I remember thinking that I was hoping we'd never see a war in my lifetime. Even with that, I really didn't think twice about war and what these soldiers were giving up. It was just something that was mentioned on TV, and something we talked about at school.

I also remember very vividly everything about Sept 11. I then remember thinking that if they had a draft anyone and everyone could be called up. I wondered if the people I loved would have to serve. I wondered if I would have to serve. I remember having dreams of them calling up my husband (we were engaged at the time) to go off to war. I dreamed of him telling me that he had been drafted, and he was leaving soon to go to war. I woke every time with tears in my eyes. I just knew that I was not strong enough to deal with that.

After we had been married about 3 or 4 months, I remember my husband telling me he really wanted to serve in the military, and he set up an appointment to talk with an Army recruiter. I asked him why he wanted to do such a thing. He simply said he was too young to be a teacher, and he just wanted to blow stuff up for awhile. He also said he felt it was something he just needed to do. I remember laying in bed next to him bawling because I didn't want any part of it. Hadn't he watched the news? We were about to be at war with Iraq, and that surely meant that he'd be leaving to go over soon. I also remember thinking that I didn't want to do that to my family. Why would I want to move my kids around all the time? I had spent my life moving from place to place, and why would I do that to my kids? I told my mom this very point, and she then asked me to recall the one thing I was always glad about my dad being a pastor. At that time I recalled my answer. It was the fact that we moved around as kids, and it helped me to not be afraid to move off to school, try new things, and to get out there. After the shock of what my husband had decided to do, I supported him 100%. I knew and still know that if the roles were reversed, he'd do the same for me.

It seems like people these days are very thankful for service members. There have been many times people have told my husband thank you for his service. People have even told me thank you for my contribution to the country for supporting my husband. I don't agree with that. I am a wife who loves her husband. That's what I do. I deserve no thanks for that. I recall one time we were out eating lunch. He was in uniform because we had just come from training. A very nice lady came up to our table with her two grandsons. She told my husband that she was so thankful for men and women like him who would serve our country at times like these. She commented on our daughter, and then her grandsons both said thank you too. My husband told her that he appreciated her thanks, and that he was just doing something he felt he needed to do. We took another 15 mins or so and finished our lunch. When the waitress came to take our plates, she let us know that the lady had paid for our lunch and taken care of everything. How amazing that someone would do this. Her kindness touched us that day.

Ever since then, I have made it a point to thank people who have served or are serving. I think that the troops today are more likely to hear it. Someone once said that she saw a Vet in a store. He was wearing a hat that said he had served in a war (the exact one escapes me at the moment). She walked up to him and simply said, "Thank you." He then asked her for what. She told him that she noticed his hat, and she thanked him for his service to our country. She said tears came to his eyes, and he let her know that no one had ever thanked him for his service.

How many times have I passed someone and not thanked them? I have no idea. After seeing what these men and women give up to serve selflessly, I feel like it is the least we can do to say thank you to these men and women. They give up time at home, time with their families, and time with loved ones. These men and women have signed up to serve our country knowing they could be put in harms way at any time. They know the risks when they take on the job of keeping our country and its people free. That freedom we enjoy every day in our life does not and has not come free. So many have given so much for our freedoms. They give away their life for as many as 15 months to go to war. Could you give up that much time to do the things these people do? Could you server your country selflessly? Would you give up your life for the freedoms we enjoy without even thinking about them? Just a thought.

I guess the point of my blog today, Veteran's Day, is if you see a Vet, thank them. They deserve it. They earned a thank you from every one of us. They did something that most of us today wouldn't even dream of doing. They have given so much to make this country what it is today, and we owe them for that.