My mother has laid flowers at the head stones of her parents and she has tended to my father's parents grave sites as well because that is the kind of woman she is. And I know she is remembering her parents and hoping her own kids take a few minutes to think of them as well. Even though this is a day that is set aside for service men and women, all of the people we have loved and cared for who are gone will fill our minds and hearts anyway.
Augusten Burroughs, a passionate writer who is well-known for a book called "Running with Scissors", says that we don't ever get over a loss. New holes in our spirit are formed, and as time passes the size and shape of these holes shift and we simply learn to walk around with them, live with this new way of being. I tend to agree with this because it seems wrong, disrespectful even, to think the loss of our loved ones has no profound impact on who we become.
And so we are all remembering today....those who have served, those we have lost, and those who continue to put themselves in harms way for us. It's a sacrifice I have never been able to wrap my brain around, and so I live with it trying my best to be thankful and to show gratitude. Today, I am mulling over career service people who have survived so much loss. When they start to struggle recalling every member of a team they have lost, when they can't count the times they have laid a soldier to rest, when the number of tours of duty they have done becomes a little foggy to them, I wonder how do they keep at it? It is all that they know is what I have been told.
I hope they feel our gratitude. I hope we all use our silence to remember, our voices to say thank you, and our votes to express our opinions. It doesn't seem like much yet in the end, it is everything.
Augusten Burroughs, a passionate writer who is well-known for a book called "Running with Scissors", says that we don't ever get over a loss. New holes in our spirit are formed, and as time passes the size and shape of these holes shift and we simply learn to walk around with them, live with this new way of being. I tend to agree with this because it seems wrong, disrespectful even, to think the loss of our loved ones has no profound impact on who we become.
And so we are all remembering today....those who have served, those we have lost, and those who continue to put themselves in harms way for us. It's a sacrifice I have never been able to wrap my brain around, and so I live with it trying my best to be thankful and to show gratitude. Today, I am mulling over career service people who have survived so much loss. When they start to struggle recalling every member of a team they have lost, when they can't count the times they have laid a soldier to rest, when the number of tours of duty they have done becomes a little foggy to them, I wonder how do they keep at it? It is all that they know is what I have been told.
I hope they feel our gratitude. I hope we all use our silence to remember, our voices to say thank you, and our votes to express our opinions. It doesn't seem like much yet in the end, it is everything.
Just found your blog, Lisa. I'm a fellow Minnesotan who loves books, writing, all kinds of goods things that I turn to when I'm restless. This is a lovely post honoring those who fight for our freedom. Glad I found your words tonight!
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