Lessons Learned - Veteran's Day, 2018

         

Over the years I have thanked many a veteran for their service and not just on November 11^th.  I have never been rebuffed for doing so.  Each and every man and woman has been gracious, and almost everyone has smiled back at me.  As a teacher I endeavored to instill this appreciation of the people who have served our nation through the military in my young students.  And again, every soldier to whom we sent pictures and letters or care packages wrote us back to tell the kids thanks and how much they enjoyed them.

As I started to think that Veteran’s Day this year was coming up soon, I realized that my perspective has changed considerably in the last year.  I began to volunteer at my local Veteran’s Administration (VA) and have learned that while all my past thank-you’s were sincere and well received, I have never really understood the depth of the man or the woman who stood before me.  Never knew the stories and memories they carried in their hearts.

This last year has been an awakening for me.  I knew I wanted to give back in some small way to veterans and more than just a verbal thank you or a handshake.  When I contacted the VA volunteer service in my city, I wasn’t sure in what direction I would go.  Now I know that the direction didn’t matter.  It was the journey and the people I would meet that would become important.

I am just one person, and the time I give at the VA only touches a handful of veterans.  I'll bet I know what you are thinking.  And if it is "how wonderful that she can give something back to these deserving folks," you are not even close.  It is I who should be the most grateful.  Getting to know these men and women as people has expanded my understanding of who they really are behind the faces, behind the laughter, and behind the tears.  I am in awe of each and every one of them.

For those who saw combat, the stories and memories they carry can be a heavy load.  Just because they have completed their tours of duty and taken off their uniforms doesn’t mean they get to pack away those horrors in an old duffel bag.  They carry that burden every day for the rest of their lives.  And even in their sleep the nightmares come to haunt them.  I have come to understand that their service to the rest of us doesn’t stop when they come home. 

I am a wiser person now.  For whatever I give of my time and effort, I receive so much in my own personal growth. The next time I thank a veteran for his or her service, I will know that they did not just show their bravery and dedication once upon a time.   

                   
                        They live their bravery every single day.