Last night we had a special Event in honor of Veterans day. I was honored to sit by a Veteran from WWII. He had served all over Europe (in the 87th division I believe) and now he has a son over in Afghanistan serving. It was a privilege to be able to hear a little of his story. He was willing to give a lot for our country (including getting shrapnel through his arm and getting a portion blown off) and I want him and all the rest to know how much I appreciate them!
I don't know about you but often I don't know quite what to do to show my appreciation for those that are serving. Lately we have felt we need to do more so I have done a little research on what can be done and I thought I would share it with you.
Here are a few things that we as normal civilians can do:
- Pray! Pray for them when they are overseas but don't stop there. I was reminded in the event we attended how hard it can be for some when they come back, pray for them as they readjust to normal life too!
- Say "Thank-you". When we see those that have served, saying thank-you can mean a lot to them.
- For those of us who know men and women stationed overseas we can send boxes of fun stuff to cheer them up and let them know we are thinking about them. Send stuff that they can share too.
- And even if you don't know anybody there are several programs that you can get involved with where you can send boxes (or just contribute to boxes) that are sent to soldiers that don't normally get boxes from home. This is not something we have done yet but Ken and I are thinking that we would like to.
- Just be there for those serving and for their family at home. Be their friend even when you don't understand what they are going through.
Please understand as I am writing this, that actually I don't think I have done a very good job in this area of supporting our troops, but I would like to do better and these are things that I have learned will help.
Here are some good resources that I have found for more information on what you can do:
- Operation Minnesota Nice ~ A friend of mine is involved in this and I think I will be getting involved too. You make a commitment to send a box once a month. This is mainly for Minnesotans but it looked like Colorado might be involved as well.
- Any Soldier ~ This sounds like another neat program for matching you up with soldiers overseas.
- Ideas of what to send.
- The value of a letter.
- A young woman's blog with ideas and inspiration for sending boxes.
- Good information on sending care packages.
Honoring the veterans works for me.
