I Salute All The Veterans On Christmas Day 2014!

Love you brother! Merry Christmas.

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL, I don't want to steal your thread but I want to piggyback on it with these thoughts, I hope you don't mind:

Families across the world gather for Christmas even now, with caravans of cars and planeloads/trainloads of passengers headed to home or close to home. However I have brothers & sisters still in harms’ way, unable to come home to their families lest they stand as vigilant sentinels in lands far away. Christmas comes once again, filled with the joy, expectation, and sentiment of the season. It is a time for children, who fill homes with energy, excitement, and sheer joy and it is a time for the aged, who cherish Christmas memories drawn from decades of Christmas celebrations. Even in an age of mobility, families do their best to gather as extended clans, drawn by the call of Christmas or however your family celebrates this time of the season. It matters not how you celebrate the holidays, or what you celebrate but who you celebrate it with. Everyday should be a Christmas day, not just in giving presents, but of ourselves’. Whether by word and deed, giving should outweigh more than receiving, for what you receive in return far outweighs any materialistic treasure.

And yet, the sentiment and joy of the season is often accompanied by very different emotions and memories. At some point, a home somewhere or any place called a home, is dealing with the memory of loved ones who can no longer gather - of empty chairs, empty of a certain laugh, a smile, empty arms, and aching hearts. However the home and the heart is not empty of memories, there are memories that celebrate the life of loved ones. Although gone in their physical form, their memory, their love, their legacy, are with us each and every day. For some, the grief is fresh, suffering the death of one who was so very present at each gathering not only just during the holidays but each and every day. For others, it is the grief of a loss suffered long ago. We grieve the absence of parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and siblings. We grieve the loss of our fellow service members, brothers & sisters- in-arms, bonded by the uniform we wore and the blood that's been shed. Some, with a grief almost too great to bear, suffer the heartbreak that comes with the passing of a child.

For all of us, the knowledge of recent events of unspeakable horror and the murder of young children, police officers, innocent bystanders, make us think of so many homes with such overwhelming grief. I was reminded recently that the anniversary of my own mom losing her husband earlier this month, 5 days before their wedding anniversary.

We wait a year to celebrate Christmas. Yet when we plan our celebration, we tend to forget those who serve us unfailingly. We gather around the Christmas tree with friends and family. But we forget to invite those who are alone in this world. So why wait a year? Each and every day, bring joy to others with an act of kindness. Ask yourself when you last gave your time to someone you didn't know very well. Ask yourself how it felt, or if you have never done it, ask yourself why. Spend some time reflecting how easy it is to give a dollar for a good cause. Give some thought to how much more difficult it is to give a minute of your time. Each day, when you wake up, no matter how difficult it might be for you, think of someone you know who might be in need of a minute of your time, and call them, or pay them a visit.

The underlying problem for so many people is that they focus all their energy on what they do not have rather than embracing what they do have. Time is short, a few fleeting moments, not realizing in an instant it can be gone. So, tonight as you gather with your family, loved ones and friends, remember to reflect on what’s in front of you, not what you didn't get for a present. Have a safe Christmas Eve/Christmas Day and welcome the New Year with a fresh outlook.