11-11 A Day to Remember

Armistice Day in Philadelphia

"The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...."

11 is the number associated with faith. The significant timing for the beginning of peace ~ or more precisely, the ending of armed combat ~ after the War to End All Wars.

And yet, it didn't end all wars. Just over 20 years later, another World War began. And there have been skirmishes around the world ever since. As there had been prior to World War I.

An article came across my news feed yesterday. Though I can't provide a link to it, bits and pieces of the article remained with me, hid themselves in my mind and struck a chord in my heart. The gist of what stuck was two-fold. In a paratrooper's letters home, they described not only the conditions of war, but also the conditions of their training for war. Essential to the training is the building of camaraderie among the troops. A trust and companionship so deep that they would be willing to lay down their lives for each other. In truth, during battles, that's precisely what does happen. Even if they do not step in front of a bullet for one another, if they did not act as a group, a team, there's little to no chance of success ~ whether one deems that winning the battle or getting out alive or both. The resonance for me shimmered in an image I had of my father with other veterans: even if they had not fought in the same troop, the same battle, perhaps even the same war, they shared a deep connection. They knew a side of life I certainly did not.

The second bit that struck a chord was the casual way death was addressed in the letters. Death itself was not casual, but death walked with them on the battlefield, jumped with them from the planes. They spoke of knowing that death would come for some, might come for them. Though their words didn't say it directly, they seemed prepared for it. Calm. Perhaps because that's what they needed to be in order to stay safe with their comrades.

I am not, nor have I ever been, an advocate of war. I ache for the families who have suffered losses and for the lives that have been cut short. I detest that money can purchase someone's way out of participating while others are conscripted. Still, I honor and appreciate all those who join their life force with any Armed Forces. May they experience that honoring wherever they are.

How have you been affected by war? by Armed Forces? What stories have you read or heard? How has war ~ and armistice ~ touched your life? Where do you feel camaraderie?

Mother's Day 2016

Happy Mother's Day!

One origin story of Mother's Day in the United States begins with a Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870, by Julia Ward Howe (who also wrote the words to The Battle Hymn of the Republic). She wrote:

Arise then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly: "We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender to those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own, it says, 'Disarm! Disarm!' The sword of murder is not the balance of justice. Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession."
As men have forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means where by the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after his time the sacred impress not of Caesar, but of God.
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

Every time I read this, or consider this origin of Mother's Day, I am reminded of a talk I had with my own mother. She, Dad and I went to visit her sister and brother-in-law. Both Dad and my uncle had served in WWII. They were discussing the current conflict, Vietnam. As a vociferous teen, well versed in the war and politics, I entered the discussion. Both men lived in the age of my-country-right-or-wrong. I was of the age of dissent.

As we were driving home from our visit, Dad began to chastise me for being so vocal and, in his opinion, disrespectful of my elders. He also said I didn't know all the facts about the subject. Mom, for the first and only time I ever recall, stopped him in disagreement. "It's her friends who are going into battle and dying. She has a right to speak her mind about Vietnam." The subject ended there.

Later, when I brought it up to her, thanking her for supporting me, I was in for another surprise. She put down her coffee cup, looked directly at me and said, "This is the one topic on which your father and I will always disagree. If your brother's number comes up for the draft, I will do everything in my power to get him to Canada. Your father believes he should go to war. I pray it never comes to that. It may destroy our marriage." In that moment, I saw a side of my mother I never had previously. I will never forget how strong, sad and serious she was. I will be forever grateful my brother's number never came up to test her strength.

What do you recall of your mother's strength? What did she teach you about peace and war? What other lessons did she share with you that surprised you?