Peace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppy

The snow is softly falling outside my window, adding to the snow already blanketing my deck. A is asleep in his bassinet. Mrblueberry just went into E's room to comfort him, and I know that if I were to open the door and look in, I would see them snuggled up in his bed. My house is quiet except for the "Acoustic Bedtime" song list on Songza. It's late, and I should really be in bed. But I just can't tear myself away from the rare tranquil moment. I find myself lost in thought. Earlier tonight, I was looking at pictures of my boys while Mrblueberry was putting E to bed. As I heard him reading a "digger" book to E, I couldn't help but think about how lucky we are. We have so many freedoms and opportunities that just don't exist in other places. I am so grateful that those men and women laid down their lives. I am so grateful for those families who paid (and continue to pay) the ultimate sacrifice for my family.

Remembrance Day is upon us. It's a day that we have set aside to remember those men and women who so bravely went off to fight for people they would never meet. How afraid they must have been when they realized what they had signed up for! How terrified their families must have been. I can't even imagine as a mother. What do you say to your child when he comes in to the house and declares that he is going off to war? How do you support that choice without breaking down? Yet, they did. Those brave mothers supported their children. They lived the war along with their brave children. How strong they must have been. Remembrance Day is a day to remember and honor those men and women, and their families. A soldier doesn't go to war alone, he takes his whole family with him. So, we wear the poppy over our left breast, over our heart, to keep them in our hearts.

Last month, I went to BC for a week for my nephew's first birthday. We were all sick, and Mrblueberry was unable to come. So, I dealt with two sick children alone while I was also sick. Each morning, I woke up at my mom's and looked out the window at the beautiful Rocky Mountains. No matter how hard the night before was, no matter how little sleep I got, I was overcome with a sense of peace. A peace that I am sure anyone who has spent any amount of time in the mountains knows. A peace that I am grateful for. A peace that those men and women fought for. A peace that I am betting my dad's uncle Jack is talking about in his poem "Where the Rockies Touch the Stars." I leave you with that poem.

Where the Rockies Touch the Stars

Now this war has ended 
And I am homeward bound 
I'll be leaving some buddies behind me 
Some boy's who'll never be found. 

Away from the fierceness of fighting 
Away from those battle scars 
Back to my home in the mountains 
Where the Rockies touch the stars. 

Back to the peaceful valley 
The one that I once knew 
Back to the peaceful valley 
Where ill winds never blew. 

Where the Canada geese are calling 
Along the Columbia River's bars 
Back to my home in the mountains 
Where the Rockies touch the stars. 
 

                 Author: Jack Thompson, 1945

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