Last week, in honor of Veteran’s day, my daughter’s third grade class was asked to write a thank you letter to the soldiers. What a precious gesture I thought. And then I found out what my sweet little girl wrote in her letter. “Thank you for protecting us and thank you for protecting mommy’s country, Iraq.” I was beyond emotional and proud when I found out about her simple yet true and powerful words. My 9 year old seized exactly how I feel about the U.S. military in a short and humble sentence.
I don’t think there are enough words or even the right words to express my gratitude for the soldiers. Despite what they had to do in Iraq, I am so appreciative of them because without them Saddam would probably still be in power. Without them, missions wouldn’t get completed to bring change and peace in the cities, and without them, my family would have faced execution instead of safety. They are the ones who rescued us out of Iraq and escorted us all the way to U.S. soil.
Although I am beyond grateful to every soldier in every military branch, my heart is a little biased towards the Marine Corps. My middle sister, Sona, served for five years, received numerous awards and accolades. Although her service was cut short due to medical circumstances beyond her control and outside of what she would have preferred, she will always be a Marine who proudly served and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Be grateful to those who give up so much to provide the rest of us with freedom and so much more. Their sacrifices are beyond our comprehension. We don’t see the trauma they face in some of the countries they are shipped to, we don’t experience the emotions they endure as they say goodbye to their families before deployment, and we definitely cannot fathom the practice of laying their lives literally on the line each and every day for the protection of others. The next time you see a member of the armed forces, please take a second to shake their hand and thank them or better yet, offer to pay for their coffee or lunch. It may be an inconvenience to you, but it will mean the world to them.
TO ALL VETERANS, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE, THANK YOU!!
Ramina, you truly do epitomize what it means to be grateful for what we are given in life. Thank you for inspiring me to continue living out my purpose. Blessings.