Scars

This is a post I wrote about a year ago and I wanted to share it again. It’s a reminder, a nudge, a let’s not forget what happened, a keep going, a don’t give up. It’s a reminder that some things have not changed despite the years and we need to remember that the threat is still there…

     It was a nightmare, a horror we never believed could happen here. So many gone. They were our brothers and our sisters, our neighbors and our friends. They lived just around the corner or thousands of miles away. Their names are carved in our hearts, but their faces are fading from our memories. We never knew them, but we mourned along with their families. There are pictures, there are memorials, but we are forgetting.

     War was declared on America on September 11, 2001 and it is a war that is not over. Why do people keep forgetting that? Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Taliban, fanatical Islamists, they all want America destroyed. For a while we were united. We were truly one nation under God. Our sorrow as a nationa pulled us together, determination moved us forward, patriotism kept us strong…for a while. Now, it’s all but gone.

     There are some who still feel it. Some who keep us safe and some who save our lives, everyday. And some of them leave their families for months at a time to keep us free. They start each day with the knowledge that it could very well be their last, but they go anyway. Some go back because they believe. And some don’t see home again.

     What keeps them going? It is love and faith and belief. It is love of family and country. It is faith in themselves, in their abilities and training. It is the belief, the knowledge, that what they do, day in and day out, is necessary. Why do they do it? It started with a dream as a child, a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, a friend who inspired them. It is just what they do. It is what they know. And for some, it is a calling.

     These are our heros. They are police, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs but most especially our men and women in the military. If you ask them why they do it, most will say that it’s their job, it’s what they do, because they can, because they are needed. None would call themselves heroes, but they are because they do the jobs that the rest of us are unable, unwilling or too afraid to do. Despite what some would say, they are keeping us safe and free.

     I am in awe of them, I admire them and their families and I will do what I can to be a help, not a hindrance, because I bear the scars, too. My heart broke that day in September and I will fight in the ways that I can. I will send cards and letters and care packages. I will thank them for keeping my family and I safe, for being there, for fighting and dying for our freedom. I will cry with their families and I will mourn their loss because they are my brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors and I will not forget!

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