Today, I spent the day at home sick but it gave me the opportunity to tune into the Remembrance Day service at our nation's capital. I cried my eyes out. For one, at the ever decreasing number of the vets who fought for our freedom. I already have a weakness for old men (my heart melts when they throw out a smile) but these elderly people (women included) are the cream of the crop. While there are those who continue to fight for our freedom today, for the vets of the first world wars and the Korean and Vietnam wars, their fights are distant memories that likely have haunted and shaped the people they lived the majority of their lives as. We wouldn't know the world we know now if it weren't for these courageous individuals.
Secondly, I'm so proud to be Canadian. I'm so proud to be part of a nation that takes pride in our past, our present and our future. I'm proud to be part of a nation that has a reputation for being friendly, open-minded, caring and adventurous. I'm so proud of the veterans that made this a reality.
I am so grateful for the life I get to live now. I'm grateful to be living in Germany, where for decades this nation was scorned for the actions of their past until the youth finally stood up and said enough is enough. We won't ever forget the lives that were lost or the battles that were fought but we can move on and learn from our mistakes. I am grateful that people have it in them to forgive and move on and make the world a better place.
Finally, I've got to throw a special thank you out there to my grandfather and my uncle who are both deceased but who fought in WWII. I've also got to thank my uncle Colin who fought in the Korean War and who gave me an incredible moment in my life when he met my ex-fiancé from the country he fought to protect. All of these men are tremendous individuals and I feel so lucky to have/have had them in my life and I feel eternally indebted to them and the others who have made Canada/the world the incredible place it is today. I took my minute at 11am but also took note that I need to be more grateful for all that I have every minute of everyday.
Thank you to everyone for your service to our country, to humankind and our universe. Lest we forget.
