Thanksgiving Eve 2020

 "We make a living by what we get, 

  We make a life by what we give."

 Winston Churchill

 

 

It is not an easy time to be alive....

Life is strange

The world is strange

The future? Largely unknown.

 

Separate, yet bound together 

We all travel thru these days

These heartaches

These fears and frustrations

 

I believe Churchill 

We each strive our best to survive

But warmth, hope and humanity

The best of life comes from

What we give....

 

Not only food, money, gifts, clothing

But equally important are:

A text

A phone call

An email

 

Perhaps a card sent to a lonely mailbox

Or a little tiny effort - a kind word or a wave hello.

A smile (you can see smiling eyes over a mask if you look closely).

A thank you

A how are you? (then really listen to the answer)...

 

Funny thing happened this week

I received a bill from a local service provider 

and on the back of the envelope

was a tiny little sticker, a circle of flowers that said, simply

"thank you"

 

 I found myself a bit overwhelmed by how very much

that tiny very thoughtful human touch

meant to me. 

 

I'll be calling the office of that business to tell them just that.

 

Perhaps one of the painfully wonderful lessons

taught by this no-good-very-bad-heart-wrenching covid-19

is how little it takes to make a difference.

How very very very much small kindness can matter.

Little acts of caring that we seem to have forsaken, 

that we have forgotten to value in the way we should.

So easy, so simple, mostly costing nothing 

but a little thought and a small effort.

 

So on this eve of Thanksgiving

Be mindful of what you may be lucky to have

Be thoughtful of what you, what other have lost

And if you are able and willing

Try to do something to help this beleaguered world

If you can, commit some small, tiny, human, act of kindness.

And I hope someone will do the same for you....

*If you'd like to share a kindness given or received in the comments I'd love that*

 

 

 

 

 

 

VETERANS DAY 2020

 

VETERANS DAY 2020

I am the granddaughter of a veteran.
I am the granddaughter-in-law of a veteran.
I am the niece of a veteran.
I am the daughter of a veteran.
I am the daughter-in-law of a veteran.
I am the wife of a veteran.

From my earliest days, from my first memories
I understood both the passion to serve and the price veterans paid.
I watched the pride and the pain upon the faces of those who loved those who have served.
I watched the worry and fear upon the faces of those who loved those currently serving.

I know what it cost those who live still. The weight of deployment does not stop upon discharge.

I spent my life observing veterans who were celebrated.
I spent my life observing veterans who were forgotten even as they served.
I spent my life observing veterans who were despised for serving their country.
Few know there were many Vietnam vets who chose to remove their uniforms when in public.

I have had the  privilege of walking in civilian life next to many of these veterans and I want you to know that each and every one of these men chose to answer the call voluntarily, totally surrendering their personal freedoms to protect you and every person drawing breath -  no conditions, no exceptions. They set their safety, their freedom, their loved ones, potentially their life itself aside for the greater good, for humanity, to protect and improve the world in whatever ways they were able.

Most importantly I want you to know that each of these men, some gone, some remaining, came home. And they continued to live their lives with the same heart that called them to serve. They continued to stand, to live, to walk the walk of humanity. Kindness. Aiding others. Supporting each Americans' right to believe and live as they choose and preventing none from doing the same within the laws of the land.

Each of these men maintained the integrity, the kindness, the camaraderie of citizenship. They understood then, as now, we are always in this (no matter what "this" the country currently faces) together. They lived and continue to live those standards.

Cooperation. Kindness. Humanity. Strength of character.  Each an example of "a good man".  Because they understood it takes many to find solutions. Many different points of view, various approaches, talking and listening. No one is smarter. No one is better. No one is always right. No one is always wrong. Each has something to offer, worth considering because it may be part of the answer - or it may not. Veterans fought and continue to fight  for the right for all points of view, all ideas to matter enough to be heard.

Veterans are the first to say, nothing worth doing, nothing worth having is gained without difficulty, effort and looking towards the greater good of peace, kindness, humanity, working together. They each saw first hand the horror of the absence of these things in a country and in the world.

I've never served, I'm not a veteran.

But I've watched and I've listened. To those men and women who have served, to those men and women who are currently serving and to those women and men who plan to serve. Military duty for our country requires much. It asks more of the serviceman or woman and those they love than I can honestly really understand never having done it myself.

Before they serve, they believe in the best of our country, our people. After they serve they believe in the best of our country and we, the citizens of the United States. They hope we will takes the gifts they protected and sacrificed for and in turn do our very best in every way to be deserving and  build upon those gifts,

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I think it's the least we can do. 

Honor their service in the way we live.

It's the least I can do. To thoughtfully, each and every day, choose to offer respect and kindness 

to everyone.