Thank You God For Our Veterans

This Veteran's Day I did something I have always wanted to do. I took our kids to the Veteran's Day Parade. It was a beautiful day and parking was not difficult. My friend who we stood with told me, "I'm just warnin' you. I get pretty weepy at this parade." Well, that makes two of us.
I thought about my grandfather, my great uncles and cousins who were/are veterans. I swallowed down so many lumps in my throat it was difficult to breathe. Who leaves family and friends and the only home they've known to go to a foreign land and fight for their country? Suffering hardships we can't even imagine so we don't have to imagine living in a country without our freedom. A freedom we all have taken for granted. Who gives like that so unselfishly? A veteran does. And given the chance to do their life all over they'd change nothing. They would serve honorably again and again.
I talked to my kids about the different wars. They didn't understand at first about the men in the blue coats marching in the parade. I told them that was to honor the Civil War veterans because they are all in heaven now. They wanted to know what POW and MIA meant. I explained as best I could about the prisoners of war and the men and women who never came home. I could tell they were really listening because they asked really thoughtful questions. And they wanted more answers and explanations than I could give.
During the parade a veteran caught my eye and said, "Thank you." He was thanking me? No, I needed to thank him. For his sacrifice and service. And though I didn't get the chance, I did thank God. For our country, our freedom and our veterans.