Eleven Eleven

Did you know there are more than 25 million living veterans in America today?

I'm off work today in honor of Veterans Day which is November 11th. It's the first time in my long working career that I have been employed by a company that officially observes this holiday.

In case you're wondering about the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, I did a little research. Memorial day was established to honor servicemembers who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle. Veterans Day is for the men and women who served in the military during war or peace.

Denise's children are having special programs at school for Veteran's Day. I couldn't remember any such programs when I was in school and neither did Denise or Stephanie who are much younger than I am (and, therefore, would have gone to school in a different era.)

Maybe I never celebrated it because the teacher I had for 5 of the 8 years I attended elementary school mostly celebrated Irish holidays. Or because it didn't become a Federal holiday until 1968. But probably it was because it wasn't until 2001 that United States Senate Resolution 143 designated "National Veterans Awareness Week" as an opportunity for schools to educate students about the contributions and sacrifices of veterans.


So this is for all the men and women who served our country honorably during wars, conflicts, political unrests, national disasters, and blessed peace.

May God always hold you close to his heart.