Remembrance Day

I'm living in the United States, but I am Canadian.   As such, November 11 is "Remembrance Day" to me, and the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is sacred.   Since I was a little girl, I've known that you take this time for a moment of silence.  This I will do this morning and, thanks to the magic of the Internet, I will join my fellow Canadians in a virtual sense through the CBC website's livestream of the ceremony being held in Ottawa, our Nation's capital.

While I listen and wait for the moment of silence, let me tell you about a Veteran in my life.  My grandfather.  My father's father.  His name was Helmut, and he was a World War II Veteran.  He served with the Canadian Armed Forces, and was stationed in the Netherlands.  His duty was to maintain the safety of the Dutch people.  He was 23 years old.  I remember a photo that sat with quiet pride on the desk in my Grandparents living room all of my life.  It featured two boys, my Grandfather and his twin brother, in their service uniforms.  Their gazes were steady and strong.  In my Grandfather's eyes, there was a twinkle of optimism and the excitement I believe he was feeling as he prepared to deploy.  That may seem like a strange word to use - excitement - but I believe for many young men at that time there was such a thrill of doing something *so* meaningful, leaving the family farm on the Canadian Prairie to set forth and be a force of change in this World. There is no shame in that.