Heard, Understood, Acknowledged

On this Veteran's Day, I suggest reading an editorial written by David Ignatius in the Washington Post, Standing Tall in Harm's Way.

Today, because I have no family member or close friend currently serving in the military, I'll be thinking of this mother, highlighted in Ignatius' column:

"... I saw many images that conveyed the pain of long and repeated deployments. One I remember vividly was a noncommissioned officer at an air base in the Gulf. She was talking by computer with her kids, trying to help keep things together at home and school just a little longer. "Mommy will be home soon," she kept saying. "Mommy will be home soon." But that homecoming is probably still months away."

We're thinking of you, Mommy. And of the many Fathers, Brothers, Sisters and Sons separated from their families today. And of my Uncle John, my father's only brother, who we lost on his third tour in Vietnam years ago. I never knew him.

Back to stationery tomorrow.

{photo courtesy of Getty Images}