Today, on Remembrance Day, I think often of my father, Gilles Beaudoin, CWO (ret'd) and the things he went through. Anyone who has been in the military knows it. You give a giant pile of blank, signed checks to the government for them to do with as they will.
Some people give some, some people give a lot, but all who have served Her Majesty the Queen have given.
Today is a day not to celebrate the things the soldier has done. Some of the things soldiers do are things that should not need to be done. But soldiers do them not because they want to do them, but because they are willing to do them, no matter the personal price they must pay.
Today is not a day to celebrate the soldier. We should not be putting them on a pedestal, to hold them higher than us.
Today is a day to recognize the soldier for who they are. Human beings who made the choice to place their country and their fellow citizens before themselves, and before their loved ones.
Birthdays, holidays, vacations, school events, family gatherings and celebrations.
These are all the things that soldiers give up in service to the Crown.
Too all the soldiers in my feed, serving or retired:
I see you.
I see the sacrifices you have made, are making, and will make.
I see the pain in your eyes and the hurt in your soul as you hug your family, turn around and walk away to your duty.
I see also, which you may not, the pride in the eyes of your family as you walk away to your duty.
Thank you for sacrificing so that we do not need to.
I will remember.
