Today on 11/11/11, we are off. We don't have school or work. Linens are 40% off, and Applebee's, Golden Corral and Chili's are all giving away fried, smothered and dipped food items to the brave men and women that have fought so diligently to protect the United States.
What does that really mean? Well, we have a world full of service people-people that serve in a branch of the military. Some men and women may have chosen the military over other work, going to college, or some other choice in life. I don't know all the reasons people join military service. As a mom, I would be very conflicted if one of my children chose to serve-I know that when my mother in law had children deployed (3 of them at one time, if I recall) she had CNN on all the time. I don't think I could handle the stress of knowing that my child is in constant danger. I know all kinds of things can kill my children-car accidents, disease, really I can't even go there or I will retreat to the fetal position for weeks, so I will stop my imagination. However, something about losing a child to service seems that much more devastating.
What are they fighting for? For one thing, they are fighting to keep America free. They fight for people to have the right to protest. They fight for people to be able to choose to have weapons in their possession. They fight for people to terminate pregnancies, build massive corporations that put small businesses out of business, they fight for people like me to rant and rave in a public forum, griping about people that make me crazy whether they are lousy drivers, crazy parents, people that drive me to want to inflict bodily harm if only because the person is morbidly obese and chose to leave the house in stretch pants, inadvertently depicted what a sack full of crazed ferrets would look like.
To honor those people, I got to take a day off with my Princess and go see the latest inane animated full-screen adventure. Yes, I gobbled myself into a oily popcorn coma. Yes, I scarfed some Swedish Fish. Yes, I laughed like the movie was funny, and thought again about what an experience it is to watch a movie in a theatre full of children.
But I also thought about all the hard work that goes into allowing me to have these freedoms. I knew that I could come home to a nice warm home, eat til my belly was full, sleep in a safe bed, free from harm.
Yes, 9/11 burst our safety bubble a bit. But I love my country, I love my freedoms, and I love that stupid people can do stupid things, with the only consequence a Darwin Award.
Thank you, Service Men and Women. This rant is for you!
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