Poppies

     ~In Flander's Field~

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.

~ Major John McCrae - 1915

As the daughter, granddaughter, great granddaughter, niece, friend, and wife of amazingly brave and selfless members of the armed forces, every day is memorial day for me. We are currently waiting for countless friends and colleagues to return from war, have recently welcomed home countless more, and know that saying goodbye to someone else may come as soon as tomorrow. 

This is what we do. And I know that I will never forget the sacrifices that have been made, and that are being made as I type this. And I hope that you won't either. 

We'll Be Friends Forever, You Know Too Much

This post by Aunt Becky hit very close to home for me. Not because I've lost any friends to death, but because I'm always unsure as to whether the people in my life know how I truly feel about them. I declare today "Tell Your Friends You Love Them" Day.

I have 3 BFFs. Without them, I would have been involuntarily committed long ago.

My Bestest Friend For Life is Tamara. We're only friends because she called me a bitch. (I totally deserved it. I had dumped a guy for telling me he loved me.) She's tried to kill me by driving into a tree. (NEVER will she live this down, even if it was over a decade ago.) She is my timeless friend. No matter how much time passes between us talking, it's as though we are never separated. I cannot imagine my life without her. The upside down, topsy turvy, about to fall apart things that we call our lives. I know that I tell her all the time that I love her, but I don't know if she knows it. So I'll say it again. In "public". Tamara Dawn, I love you too much.

Tamara and I~Senior Skip Day~2000

I also have a "Sure You Can Stab Them With a Fondue Fork" friend. I only met Holly because she knew Stacy who helped me transport daycare stuff. While I admit I am a sucky friend, and went almost a year without speaking to her, I'm definitely keeping her around now. She may be the only one who doesn't tell me I should play nice. I'm fairly sure she WOULD let me stab someone in the eye with a fondue knife if I needed to ask her permission for that sort of thing. She's feisty and quick tempered, but will drop whatever she's doing to help if you need it. We agree to disagree on many things, because we know there is no way to out stubborn either of us. I've not told her recently, so I'll say it now, Holly, I truly love and appreciate you!

And last but not least, there's Erica. She is my "tell me everything, right now" friend. I honestly cannot say how or why we became friends. I like to think we just "click". There's no way to explain it. I attended the birth of her youngest son, I can't name a time when there hasn't been any TMI shared, and in general we're a good team. (Unless stairs are involved. Stairs are not our friend.) We've both dealt with some pretty crappy stuff in the past, and I'm so glad I have her to talk to, but also, that she can talk to me about things. Neither of us judging the other for this or that. Erica, I love you, and thank you for everything!

People of the Internet, make sure you tell your friends you love them. Not just your family. There is always a point where a friend BECOMES family, and that makes those words even more important.