Remembering Peace
Posted on May 28, 2007 - Filed Under Deep Thoughts, Peace News |
Memorial Day has always been one of those holidays that I actually recognize. Being a native Illinoisan, Murphysboro to be exact, I have always been aware of what this day really means as General John A. Logan helped make this day a national holiday and he also hailed from Murphysboro. (http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2007/05/28/top/20412206.txt)
As most Americans, I have many family members that served in the military and have since passed away. Most of them before I was even born. But the one person that I remember not only on Memorial Day, but every day, is my dad. I lost him 4 years ago to a heart attack at the too young age of 55. He was in the Air Force and a Vietnam veteran. Like many veterans, he never wanted to talk about what he saw or what happened to him during the war, but he would talk about how the war changed him. How he was a college student when war was declared and him and all his friends were fearful of being drafted so they essentially put their lives on hold and joined their preferred military branch. My dad had permanent ringing in his ears from jet noise and unbearable skin problems that even turned cancerous at one point because of the Agent Orange he was exposed to. I cannot even begin to imagine what he went through and now that he is not here with me, I often wish I had asked him to tell me about it. Not necessarily to force him to talk about something that still kept him up at night, but to let him know that I appreciated his service to our country.
So for Memorial Day 2007, my daily peace was remembering dad—something that is often still a sad experience for me, I decided to make a positive one today. I decided to not focus on the fact that he is not with me, instead focusing on what he means to me still; in the present. I flipped through some pictures of my dad. I don’t have too many, but just enough that I feel like I am having a conversation with him in my mind. My husband and I grilled out, as most Americans do on this day, and we just talked about how much we appreciate what our military does for us, but in light of our current war, how we want all of our soldiers to come home safe and sound, and that we want peace. Remembering loved ones and even getting to talk about them with others is a great way to find your daily peace. It worked for me and I hope it can be your daily peace too.
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