To our veterans and soldiers, "Thank you."

Several years ago I volunteered at my local Veteran's Administration nursing home. It was quite an experience. Some of the residents didn't like to visit with the volunteers, but some were very friendly and really enjoyed having us come in to chat.

Most of the guys I got to know were veterans of WWII. One gentleman in particular took a paternal interest in me. He used to lecture me about my boyfriend (the husband, now,) and tell me stories about his service in the war.

Now, I was raised in a family where there was an undercurrent of looking down on military service. Although it was never explicitly stated, the attitude was there that soldiers were brutish, violent, uneducated types, abusers who ran their families like military units. After I took the ASVAB in high school (hey, you got out of class if you took it) I got a package from a military recruiter that included a reproduction of the classic "Uncle Sam wants you!" poster. I wasn't interested, but my brother asked for it, much to our father's consternation. "If he puts that up on the wall, he'll wind up joining the military!" Dad said. "It's a brainwashing technique." I teased my brother about that later, when he joined the National Guard.

My father still isn't sure how he wound up with a son in the National Guard, a son-in-law in the Reserves, and another son-in-law who did 20 years of active duty. (I'm not too sure myself how this turned out. I'm quite sure none of us were rebelling. It just ... happened. My sister and I laugh about it sometimes when we're on the phone together.)

Talking with this veteran dramatically changed my view of military service. He manned a fifty caliber gun, a job that got a lot of ment killed, he told me. He told me about men he'd known, hardships they'd endured. He'd been through a lot in the war.

As I listened, I kept thinking of a phrase from a song I learned when I was a little girl. "Between their loved homes and the war's desolation."

I'd never before understood those words. This man and others like him, had literally gone out and placed their bodies as a physical barrier between their families and evil. A physical barrier! Laying their lives on the line, suffering, dying, to protect their families. The life I enjoyed so much was a direct result of the sacrifices these men had made.

There are just so many times in life when words are inadequate. That realization was like light exploding into a dark room. I was so shaken, so moved, that I could barely keep from crying in front of him. In fact, it was years before I could talk about that moment without my voice shaking and starting to lose my composure. Nothing I could ever say or do could begin to express the gratitude I feel toward our soldiers for all they risk for our sakes.

I'm proud of my brother and brother-in-law. I'll be relieved when they're home safely, but I respect their decision to serve, and I am grateful to them.

My sister has two blue stars in her window. I'd put them up on my blog if I could figure out how. For now, just imagine them.