Celebrating Veterans Day

Whether you have a family member who is a veteran or not, Veterans Day is a great day to thank those around you for their service and to educate your own family about Veterans Day.  

Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11 because that is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended WWI.  People in other countries call this day "Armistice Day" or "Rememberance Day".  Ultimately it is a day where we take the time to thank a veteran and show our appreciation any way we can.

If you are a veteran or are the spouse of a veteran or have a friend that is a veteran, I came across this website that lists a lot of great discounts and free meals for veterans.

Today is also a great day to let your children know about the great men and women who keep our freedom free.  Many towns have programs at their local museums or libraries to teach kids in a fun way about Veterans Day.  If you live near Fort Benning, the Columbus museum has a great program for kids this afternoon.  

Today, Caleb and I are going to spend time thanking our very own veteran that we are so proud of.  He received the sweetest letter in the mail yesterday from a little girl that he has never even met.  I am blog friends with her mama, Kristan, and her daughter sent Seth a sweet card thanking him for his service.  It meant a lot to him :)  Right now we are letting Seth sleep in on his day off, since every other weekday his alarm goes off at 5am!  "We" also made him some muffins and coffee and we are all going to the park to exercise today, which strangely enough is a perfect outing for him.  Then we might take up one of those free dinner offers tonight :)

Commission Day 2008

I can't help but think of all the veterans who are no longer here because they gave everything.  I think about my friend Nicole whose husband was murdered in Iraq 3 years ago when her son was Calebs age.  I think about my father in law who went to Vietnam twice and somehow made it back alive, except back then no one was there to thank him when he returned.

So many people who gave so much.  Hopefully today we can put our own problems in perspective and realize that nothing seems all that bad as long as we aren't being shot at or blown up (crazy thought, but true for a lot of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq today!).

I hope that you enjoy your Veterans Day and remember to take a second and thank a veteran!

Deployment Day 2010

Celebration Day 2010!!!