A Thank You Party

“Mom, why are they decorated for the Fourth of July in here?”

Kidzilla asked this toward the end of our meal at a local restaurant on Saturday evening. Sure enough, the place looked ready for an Independence Day celebration. There were sprays of red, white, silver, and blue stars shooting up out of vases on tables and the bar in the center of the room. There were stars and streamers trailing from the ceiling like trails on comets. There were garlands of stars and colored lights hanging in corners and draped over just about everything in sight. The front door boasted a window painting of an American flag and a bald eagle sort of morphed into one continuous object.

For a second, I wasn’t sure what the red, white, and blue was all about and then I remembered; Monday is Veterans’ Day.

The Fab Hub and I explained Veterans’ Day to our Zilla…which of course necessitated a brief discussion about soldiers and war as well. Our astute little girl took it all in and then decided it was a wonderful idea and that the soldiers all deserved a day to have a party so people could say “thank you” to them for protecting us.

That’s a pretty good way to look at it.

As we drove home, I thought a bit more about the day and about what the Fab Hub had said at the table in the restaurant – why does it have to be on one particular day? Shouldn’t we make it a point to be grateful – and let these men and women know of our gratitude – on any and all other days?

He feels similarly about things like Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day and others. We should express our feelings about people all the time and in everyday ways, not just on a proscribed date.

Of course we should. And many people do. I’ve seen people go out of their way to shake the hand of a soldier in uniform and say “thanks for what you do.” I know that people volunteer at Veterans’ organizations and invite Veterans into their schools and churches to talk about and share their experiences.

But I often think it’s just not enough. I can’t imagine the lifestyle, the sacrifice, or the commitment it must take for not only those who choose to serve, but their families with them – parents, spouses, children, siblings. It’s a huge choice. It’s a hefty responsibility. One I’m not certain I could ever make and I am so very grateful for those who do.

My Grandfather was a WWII Veteran. I never knew much about his time in service because he didn’t really talk about it until much later in life. I am to this day humbled and awed by the things he had to tell…how they used their helmets for every purpose imaginable, how their feet nearly froze in the cold, how they sang “Silent Night” in the trenches, how the leather cover of a prayer book kept a bullet from piercing his heart.

I know so many other Veterans as well…many family members, friends, and even a few former students by now. No matter how we feel about the job they do or the circumstances under which they have to do it, it is a great and wonderful sacrifice.

Today, on the proscribed day – and truly on many days throughout the year – I remember my Grandfather and the many others, both living and dead, who have given their lives, their time, and their all for the rest of us.