Well, today is Remembrance Day in Canada (Veterans’ Day in the U.S.) and since I had a grandpa in the 2nd world war and my dad was in the military for 25 years, it’s a big day! Especially difficult, is remembering those who we have lost in the past year.
When I was a kid, Remembrance Day always moved me but not as much as it does now. Back then I knew that we had men and women overseas but they were always in more of a peace keeping role, not running around in the middle of urban warfare. Canadian military went in to clean up after the war and try and help put the war ravaged country back together. The Remembrance Day ceremonies were a lot different too. There were more veterans at the ceremonies then and there were a few air or sea cadet regiments and if there was a base nearby, there would also be some current military. I remember feeling strangely detached. Most of the veterans were my grandpa’s age and I didn’t really relate, I just knew that our freedom was important and we had the veterans to thank for it.
Now the veterans among us are getting fewer and fewer as time goes by but the show of current military at these ceremonies is much greater. I believe that we all relate a lot more because we know that there are many men and women out there fighting for our freedom right now, 9/11 also woke us up to realize how important our military is and war has been brought right into our living rooms since they started broadcasting live images of war on television and the internet. It has all been brought so much closer to home and most of us have been touched in some way.
My grandfather didn’t talk a whole lot about what happened to him during the war but from what I have put together, this is what I do know. He was a teenager when he went overseas. He was nicknamed “Horizontal McCauley” because he slept all the time, even in the trenches! We used to joke around saying because he slept so much, that was how he made it through the war. He told us that he was the only one who survived in his regiment of about 30 men and so he stopped making friends because he didn’t know whether they would survive. He remembered laying awake at night and hearing men screaming because they were hurt or dying and no one could help them. He told me a story once about him and another guy taking turns carrying a fellow soldier about 30 miles by piggyback because he had no legs and the blood from that incident still being on his uniform after the war was over.
When my grandfather was caught, he was hiding up in a tree and a German soldier came up behind him and caught him. He was stuck in a P.O.W. (prisoner of war) camp for the last part of the war. He told me that the prisoners were treated better than the guards because of the laws during war, the opposing side had to treat their prisoners well during capture or they would be charged with war crimes. He said that he and the other prisoners felt sorry for the guards and sometimes even shared their food with them because they were starving. The food they were sharing was not the greatest either, stale bread, rotting potatoes, some sort of mush and water. When grandpa left for war he was just over 200lbs., when he came home he was just over 100lbs.
Grandpa passed away about 7 yrs. ago. They buried him in his uniform. I will always remember what he went through at such a young age, as did many other members of our military.
We need to remember what our military has done for us in the past as well as the present. Their service is so important. They fought for freedom yesterday and are still fighting today. We will always be thankful.
As part of Remembrance Day, we wear poppies in Canada. The history of the poppy flower is an interesting one. I found this article and wanted to share it with you.
The poppy of wartime remembrance is the red corn poppy. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders Fields. This is because the corn poppy was one of the only plants that grew on the battlefield. It thrives in disturbed soil, which was abundant on the battlefield due to intensive shelling. During the few weeks the plant blossomed, the battlefield was coloured blood red, not just from the red flower that grows in great numbers but also from the blood red of the dead soldiers who lay on the otherwise barren grounds. Thus the plant became a symbol for the dead World War 1 soldiers.
In Canada, poppies are distributed by the Royal Canadian Legion each fall prior to Remembrance Day. Poppies stand as a prominent feature of “In Flanders Fields”, one of the most frequently quoted English-language poems composed by front-line personnel during the First World War. It was written by John McCrae, a doctor serving in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
- John McCrae
And that’s just my point.
Well since I gave you the low down on me in my last post, I thought I would introduce you to the other members of my family.
My husband Ron was born in southern Ontario and was raised in a Christain home. He comes from a wonderful Christian family heritage. His grandfather was a pastor and worked in many large churches near the Toronto area, he also worked with many Christain organizations that catered mostly to youth (this age group was especially close to his heart). Ron is the youngest of three children and has 2 older sisters. He says that they made his life difficult but something tells me that it was probably the other way around. Ron asked Christ to become a part of his life around the same age I did and was baptized around 12 years old or so, same as me. He moved around about as much as I did growing up but always stayed within southern Ontario. On a sad note, Ron’s parents divorced when he was around 16 years old and this affected him quite a bit.
When I met Ron he had just come home to live with his mom after working at Red Lobster for a few years. All the Red Lobsters closed up around here at the same time and moved to the U.S. He was a little lost and wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He ended up choosing a career in welding and went to trade school. He has been welding now for over 10 years but in the last few years, he decided welding was getting too dirty and was a young mans trade so, he started working for a store here in Canada called Princess Auto. Princess Auto is like a dollar store for men. Imagine all the stuff you would find in Rona, like in the nuts and bolts type isles and that is pretty much what Princess Auto sells, as well as tools and other “man” type stuff. Ron loves his job and due to his age and experience has moved up into a management position very quickly. Not bad for a guy who worked in a blue collar shop environment for over a decade and moved suddenly into retail.
These are my lovely children! All THREE of them.
They make my life busy and hectic, but I love them.
My oldest daughter’s name is Hope and we did have a lot of hope for her when she arrived. I was 26 years old and believe me, no where near ready to have a child but it worked out well. Hope had severe colic after she was born and we spent many nights and days up with her trying to get her little stomach to stop hurting. Talk about frustrating. She is 8 years old now and time has really flown. Hope is a very social little girl and loves to play with her friends. She is also very talkative and has the attention span of an ant. Whenever Hope and I go places there is always someone yelling Hope, Hope!! It seems like everyone knows her. Hope accepted Jesus into her life about a year ago and always has lots of questions about God and Jesus. She understands that she has a relationship with Jesus and that he died on the cross for her. She loves Sunday school and the various kids clubs at our church.
My middle daughter is Paige. She is sooo different from Hope. Paige is so laid back she is practically asleep but that’s okay it makes her quite a bit different from Hope. I like the variety. Paige will agree with almost anything you want her or ask her to do. She is a very obediant child. She loves candy and chocolate milk (just like her mom). Paige just started jr. kindergarten and is doing great. She is a lot like Ron’s older sister Cathy and is a bit of a joker and always has a smile on her face.
My youngest son is Charles. He is named after Ron’s other grandpa, Charlie Bowyer. Charles just had his first birthday on October 24th and will be the last of our brood. Charles’ personality is right in between Hope and Paige’s. He is not as busy and determined as Hope is but he is not a relaxed as Paige. Funny eh? Three kids with all different personalities. Who would have thunk. We actually just dedicated Charles to the Lord on the Canadian thanksgiving weekend and that was great. For those of you who don’t know, baby dedication is where you stand before your church and promise before God and man that you will raise your child to know God and raise them in a Christ based household. We have done this with all our children. Charles is a very happy baby and likes to laugh. He is a fairly easy baby to take care of. The only problem is, I spend a lot of time looking at him and wishing he wont grow up cause, he is the last child we are going to have. Life is funny that way. Sometimes we want our kids to grow up so they wont be so much work but at other times we don’t want them to grow up because we know they will be leaving home.
Anyway, that is my family in a nut shell and it’s also just my point for today, thanks for reading! >
Well, here it is…in all it’s glory! My very first post in what will be my attempt at a blog. Excellent! A place where I can share my thoughts about whatever I want, hopefully leave some sort of written legacy of my life for my kids, and the most noble of my missions; shamelessly plug my online Christian bookstore which you can find at www.sonrisechristian.com. (It’s currently my Mr. Holland’s opus.)
At this point you are probably wondering, how in the world is a busy mother of three who has a full time job going to find the time to write a blog? I have absolutely no idea but the plan is to write every Monday, Wedneday and Friday so, we’ll see how it goes.
As for my writing skills, you can already see they are something to be desired. I will have comma’s and semi colens in the wrong place and there will definately be spelling mistakess. This program I am blogging on appears to not have spell check. Guess I should have checked that out before now. Anyway, my brother assures me that my writing will improve with practice. Hope he’s right, (he usually thinks he is).
I might as well tell you a bit about myself. I was raised in a military home, my dad started out in the navy but switched over to the airforce after a few years. I was born on a military base in Cold Lake, Albera, Canada, and believe me, the lake was cold. I became a beliver in Jesus Christ when I was only 6 years old (more about that in another blog). My dad’s name is Jim, my mom is Dora and my little brother is Jim as well. We moved from Ontario to B.C. and back again but never overseas. Right up till I entered grade 8, we moved every two years. From grade 8 to grade 12 we lived in Trenton, Ontario and moved from there to Newmarket, Ontario after my dad retired from 25 years of service. I attended two years of college, started my working career, met my husband, Ron, got married and had our first child, Hope, in Newmarket. As you can tell, I lived there awhile; 11 years actually. In 2002, our family moved to Barrie, Ontario and we bought our first home. I had our second child, Paige, and our third child, Charles. That was a year ago and we have lived in Barrie for a little over 6 years. That brings us pretty much up to date. My whole life of almost 35 years in a paragraph. Never fear, I will fill in alot of the blanks for you and keep you up to date on my daily life and thoughts as well.
Hmmm, not bad for my first go at it and as they say, “it all gets better from here baby!” (Whoever “they” is.) Maybe it was just me who said it.
Anyway, that’s just my point.