At Great Personal Cost
A simple gift
I know that as a parent it is important that we teach our children that they are safe. They are safe because we care to make them safe. They are not born with any preconceived notion of the dangers in the world. They have no concepts of bad things or people. They have no beliefs or ideas that other people may mean them harm.
Safety to a child though is fleeting. I have seen a child lose a parent and often they do not understand why that parent will never come home. In a child’s eyes they watch us leave for work, friends or family and they expect that we will be coming back. With expectations like this I remind myself that is important to take some time each day and tell my son I love him.
I think about our safety and want to teach my son that we need to further respect sacrifices made on our behalf. Sacrifices that are not small but come at great personal costs to others. It is on the last Monday in May that we pay tribute to fallen men and women of the United Stated Armed Forces. It is on this day in the United States we have Memorial Day.
Men and women have given their life’s to keep us from harm’s way. These men and women often have left children, spouses and parents wondering why they are not coming home. I know that everyone will never agree on all things. It is not in our nature to agree on everything but I think we can find common ground on saying thank you.
If we only stop and remember that these fallen soldiers were just like any one of us. They had life’s and reasons to come home. We don’t have to agree on the reasons they were in different parts of the world. What we should agree on is the people they left behind. Take just one moment and put yourselves in that small child’s place when their parent never says I love you again. Think of yourselves as a parent many years from now if you knew that your son or daughter wouldn’t ever call again. Imagine yourself as that spouse opening your front door only to find you are now a widow or widower.
It is for this reason I teach my son to respect others and their beliefs. I want him to grow into a strong man but in being a strong man he has to value sacrifices and life. It is for this belief I will make sure he grows up as safe as possible. I will do my best to make him understand that for everything he takes for granted someone else has paid for it.
I hope that someday he will be able to have a world that is free of war, hatred and discontent. I am a realist though and know that this is not an easy change, so for now I settle for just teaching him to say thank you.
Happy Memorial Day – Thank you for your many sacrifices to allow me to teach my son to say thank you.
