Talluluh is Grateful

With Veterans Day left behind in our rear view mirror, we've all gone about our lives as usual. I woke up this morning cursing the alarm clock. I kissed my husband goodbye as he left for work. I drove my children to daycare and school. But when I say "we've all" returned to our normal routine, that's really not the case. Somewhere a child cries himself to sleep because he misses his daddy, who has been deployed for months. Somewhere, a wife loses sleep because she worries that the next day might greet her with the news that her husband is injured in the line of duty...or worse. Somewhere a soldier loses sleep because they are in the threshold of war, or because of the nightmares that accompany PTSD.

I do not doubt that we are all grateful for our Armed Forces and their families. And on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, we proudly wear red, white, and blue. We stand a little straighter for the flag salute. We may even get teary as we listen to patriotic songs performed by the youth of our nation. We tell the service men and women we know, "Thank you," and we mean it.

But then, we go on about our lives. Lives that are sometimes easy, sometimes not so easy, but we go on. There are so many who struggle to go on. Whether it is because they are scared, sad, wounded, disabled, haunted, or something more, they cannot go back to a "normal" routine. The lives of those affected by military service may never resemble "normal" again.

I am not a military wife, daughter, or sister. I am a teacher. And there has been more than one occasion where I have found myself caring for and loving the child of a soldier day in and day out. I know the troubles of a life of service through the eyes of a child. I have held them while they cry. I have listened to their fears. I have collected items for care packages, I have admired their mothers. 

This does not make me more grateful than you. It does, however, make me feel compelled to do more. So each year, not necessarily on Veterans Day, I try to make a small donation to the Wounded Warrior Project or the USO. I hope that you will consider doing the same. If donating isn't your thing, just do something nice for a veteran that you know.  A card, baked goods, or another small act of kindness. Because we should all give a little to help those who gave, or continue to give, so much. God Bless America, and THANK YOU, Veterans!