September 11, 2001 is a day that the world will never forget. For those of us with family members that are currently serving our country, have served our country in the past, or are getting ready to serve in the future, it has a meaning that many of us cannot even begin to describe. So many died, countless injured or wounded, and even more lives forever changed in some way, shape, or form. It has affected so many people in so many ways. Ways that even 10+ years later we still cannot fathom the details of that day. We cannot make sense of it. I do not think we ever really will.
Our country’s history is far from peaceful. It seems like every few years there is some sort of turmoil or conflict, whether it is right here on our own soil or if we go to the aid of another country on theirs. To those who have family and friends answering the call of our government, it feels like there is no end in sight. We struggle to stay positive and believe there is “greater good” at stake. We want to believe that the sacrifices of these brave men, women and their family and friends supporting them, have not been in vain. We want to think that this cause will make the world better in some way, even if it is a very small one.
As a Airmen’s wife and the mother to our Air Force “brats”, it can get rather hard to keep explaining the “whys” to our kids. Why Daddy has to leave again, why Daddy has to miss Christmas, why Daddy misses all their sports games, recitals, and plays. Sure many parents miss those things due to work. I know that fact alone does not make my children’s questions any more “special” than any other child’s whose parents miss those events. It is the “why” that makes it different. It is the “why” that is so hard to explain. When the reason is half a world away in a foreign country they have only seen on maps or on the news. Even with all the technology we have in this day and age, the why is still very abstract to a child. They want to know why that country’s own government doesn’t help its own people. They want to know why our country always seems to be in the middle of all these wars.
As their mother, I want them to understand. I want to give them all the answers and I can’t. I don’t have all the answers. No one does.
It is on days like this, that I have to sit back and remind myself what I am thankful for, the reason I choose to work from home, the reasons why we decided to home school, the reasons why my husband swore to protect this country at all costs, the reasons I fell in love with and married him, the reasons we chose to start a family, and reasons that I believe that it all has a purpose. That God has a plan for me and my family. I look at my kids and my husband and smile. Love filling me to the very core.
Every crack filled with a sense of peace that only God can give me through them. They are my why. They are my reason for being. They are my purpose.
Today, take the time to thank a soldier or veteran. Thank a firemen, a policemen, or a paramedic. Pay it forward in some way. Doesn’t have to be something big. Open the door for someone. Bring coffee to a co-worker. Help the elderly person next door walk their dog. See that screaming kid in a cart at the grocery store, offer them a smile – offer the parent with them a smile and maybe a hug! The simple act of a smile, a hand shake, or even a hug can forever change someone’s day, or even their life. You just might be the one reason they hold their head up and make it through another day.
Today is a day to show the world that we are still here. Growing, learning, striving to rebuild and do it better than we ever did before. One single person may not change the world, but many people do one small thing can!
