The Boy had a bad dream the other night. He dreamt that his Dad was off for five months fighting in a war. He woke up crying.
When he told me about it, I comforted him by telling him Dad was away at work, at a conference. He knew that he was working, but the dream felt very real. I joked a bit with him, telling him his Daddy was way too old, that the army wouldn't want him anyway.
I didn't tell him the sad truth that there are kids for whom that bad dream is actually a reality.
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I always hoped and assumed that when I had kids, they would grow up in a world without war. After all, during my childhood, I certainly thought of war as something distinctly in the past. I knew that my mother had been affected as a child in China and my great-uncle had been an esteemed General; we had school assemblies to acknowledge Remembrance Day, we wrote poems, we learned about all about the World Wars...in the distant past.
But now we are in an age of war. Remembrance Day is not only about remembering the men and women and their sacrifices in history, but also those who have lost their lives trying to keep the peace just months, weeks ... even days ago.
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Today, we will remember. We will be proud of the brave soldiers, like my kids' grandpa. Who risked their lives, and continue to do so, to keep our world safe and free. It's the least we can do.
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This just in, my girlfriend the lovely C, has been on bedrest for weeks with her first pregnancy, and is now going into Labour and Delivery with her baby at just 28 weeks. Please keep her in your thoughts and send good wishes her way....
Edited to add: C had a baby girl!!!!!
10 comments:
Excellent post KarenMeg. You are so right; we certainly did think war was a thing of the past. Sadly, that is never true.
Best wishes to your friend; hope everything and everyone is okay.
Great post, indeed wasn't it lovely and carefree to remember when we were kids....it was in the past and while it was important to remember the nightmare was history.
It is not history, it is reality for our kids.
Prayers for your friend....
I am selfish enough to be grateful that my two older boys have astham and so will never, ever be accepted; my heart breaks for every parent, partner, child of the people who are fighting. And if we remember, maybe, maybe, maybe we will stop screwing it up.
I can't help but think of the families affected now by war, one of my classmates - from SK to Grade 13! - was injured last year. And yet, I am so thankful, that for my kids at least, here in our protected little corner of the world, war is something they still don't understand. I guess that's why I've given up watching the news.
I'll pray for your friend.
xo Sarah
Nice thoughts...saying prayers for your friend!
It is amazing how much men and women have sacrificed in times of war. I also thought if it as something of the past growing up. My hopes is that it will be something of the past for our future generations.
C just delivered today!
To little avail, we try to hide the realities of our present from our children. I long for the days that Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day will honor men and women from the past and not my present.
Excellent post.
Lovely post and prayers for your friend!
I had THE worst fear of war when i was your son's age. Not only the actual act of war, but of the men in my life having to go off and fight it. It was seriously one of my worst fears. I'm not sure how or when it subsided, but I can relate to your boy on this one.
I grew up with the after affects of VietNam. Well, it wasn't over until I was 9, so I remember some of it. And then I guess I had a period when I thought it was over. But the Gulf War (the first one) woke me up on that one. I keep hoping for a world of peace, but I don't know if we'll ever get there. Too many people, too few resources, too much greed.
Sigh
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