Today reflecting on Veteran’s Day 2020 as a veteran and a mother of a service member, I am filled with gratitude. This has been a year of unbalance and challenge, one with unrest and division. Despite all that, we live in a country that is free to express our differences as well as those things we have in common. Our veterans have paid a heavy price for that freedom.
I am grateful for the education and training I received. As I reflect, I know that my daughter who is now serving will be stronger for what she experiences. In all circumstances good or bad, I have been challenged. Through those challenges, I have learned to be grateful in all things- no matter what comes. I am grateful for those challenges to help me see that I am strong and when I face hardship again that I will be able to make it through. I can use all these situations to learn from and grow. It gives me an appreciation and a positive outlook for the future and what comes next.
I am grateful to those that I have served with and those veterans that I met along my life journey that have taught me so much and helped me become the person I am today. I had the chance to experience people from all over, with different beliefs than my own and learned how to come together and learn from each other to see the world from a different perspective but still be able to work together. Thank-you for being an example and a part of my life. Through adversity the veterans I have met, bond together and accept the challenges, fight for each other, and do not give up and have not allowed me to give up.
Thank-you to all the people that have served our country. Thank-you to those who have volunteered to carry this burden and those that answered the call when drafted. Thank-you also to the family members of all the service members they have also carried the burden for all. Your service to your service member and our country is also remembered. I am grateful for the people that paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Many have suffered physical and psychological challenges and others have lost family and friends dear to them. Remember them today and always honor them and their sacrifice, even if you do not agree with the politics.