Veterans Day

It's time for another of my rants...Today it's about Veterans Day. As always if you don't like to read you have the power to delete.

This morning over nice warm cinnamon rolls with my son, I stopped to think about Veterans Day and what it really means. I'm saddened that so many Americans do not know. They confuse it with Memorial Day or July 4th and put up a flag thinking that their duty is complete. It's far from complete....

Veterans Day happens 365 days a year in the Scofi household. To help you better understand let me share some of the great lessons both my husband and I were honored to learn from our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. As a daughter, daughter n' law, granddaughter, niece and Goddaughter I have had the distinct honor of growing up beside and with some of the most wonderful giving people on earth. I hope you will try and look through my eyes for a moment....My grandfather didn't know you or your family when he was in the Pacific, nor my great great great grandfather yet they willingly wore our country's uniform to protect and defend the rights we have each day. Talk about sacrifice! How many times do you not let someone in front of you in a traffic jam because you are in a hurry? Or get disgruntled because the person in the 10 items or less line has 20 items and you are in a damn hurry. Yet my father and father in law didn't know you either. One sat in a missile silo waiting on the word from President Kennedy scared out of his wits because "communism" was too close and he didn't want you or your children to have to grow up that way. Or my father in law who went multiple times to a country on the other side of the world, watching his Soldiers die and coming home to the same people he was willing to die for spit on him.

To understand why I so love working with military families and veterans every day you must first realize what they have given me, my husband and our son, the gift of freedom. Not one day a year with a special sale or a parade but everyday. For them, all of them who have ever worn the uniform of the United States of America, today and everyday hereafter I say thank you and pledge to do my very best to never forget.

The lesson, if you are brave enough to admit you can learn something - Veterans Day is not just one day a year - every day you celebrate life or being an American or utilize your rights given to you, were because of God Almighty and the American Veteran. Maybe it's time that we teach our children what they've been given.

I hope that each night as you say your prayers you remember as I will challenge myself to do every day for the rest of my life - we as Americans and most importantly children of God are not here because of a switch being flipped.....Someone paid dearly......

Thank you.
Kim Scofi