Recognition and Appreciation

Keep this in mind

In our church service this morning, the pastor asked all active military and veterans to stand and be recognized in honor of Armed Forces Day. My husband got to his feet as did many other men and a few women. The pastor said what many in the congregation were thinking--Thank you for your service to our country. It only took a moment, but I think many who were in attendance will think about it today.

Memorial Day will be celebrated in only a week's time. This week gives you time to write a story, a tribute, an essay or a poem to honor our veterans. You can send it to your local newspaper or you can include it in your family memory book. It's probably too late to get it published elsewhere for this year, but you might save it in a file and submit it early next spring to an appropriate magazine or ezine. 

Last year, I sent something I'd written to the Kansas City Star for a column they run called As I See It. I didn't know the short essay had been accepted until I opened my newspaper on Memorial Day morning. Several people in our community thanked me for writing it.

Consider showing your appreciation to a veteran or an active military member in whatever way you can. You can do it as formally or informally as you like. If nothing else, a smile as you pass a soldier in the grocery store aisle is worth a lot. I'm fortunate to live near a military  post so I encounter people in uniform frequently. They're a part of my community and I'm grateful to have them. I can make a batch of brownies and leave them with an officer's wife who sees that they are used during deployment times when families gather to send off their loved ones. Simple things like that give needed support.

Keep in mind all the military does now and what those veterans of several wars and peacetime efforts have given to you. Some of the freedoms we take for granted are there because of our military.