MaxedOutMama
Friday, November 26, 2004
Shocking Discoveries
Don, who is in Iraq, blogs on it. Some of the Iraqis seem pretty grateful, don't they? Those bags they are holding are school kits - I heard a story on the radio on Tuesday about a disabled vet in Florida who has organized a drive to collect supplies. So far they have shipped about 40,000 school kits to Iraq. Giving to this type of cause is something that benefits both our soldiers and the Iraqis.
Tom has the contact site for the Army Emergency relief organization. He says that in his 30 years of experience he saw this organization come through for the soldiers over and over again. One of my private rituals on Thanksgiving Day is to figure out who I am giving to that year, and this year I'm including AER, thanks to Tom's mention of it. I always give to the Salvation Army, and I usually try to pick on small unknown charity and give something to it as well. There are incredible numbers of these types of organizations around, and they are truly something to be thankful for. Here is a good example of what a difference this type of organization can make.
And finally, a shocking discovery of my own:
I'm all right! Yesterday I was wildly busy, cooking and cleaning and doing all sorts of things, and I got it all done, and I got it all done right. By evening I was so astonished that I was overwhelmed with thankfulness. I never cry, except at funerals, but I have had tears in my eyes last night and this morning.
I have a disease which is incurable, and several years ago I was so bad off that I often couldn't even dress myself, and I couldn't talk very well, and I could hardly read or write. I was literally too stupid to boil water - I remember trying to boil water to make tea three days running and failing at it.
I have come back a long way, and yesterday drove it home. After 9/11 I became quite depressed for about nine months. I knew that we were at war, whether we wanted to concede it or not. I grieved for all the young people whose lives would be affected and those who would die or be maimed, and their families. I was despairingly angry at the knowledge that my useless life would be preserved by the sacrifice of those promising lives. It seemed so terribly, terribly wrong.
I remember a letter a 17-year old wrote to our local paper that October, saying that he was prepared to go but that he wanted to make sure that his brother wouldn't have to go, so that there would be someone left to take care of his parents when they got older. I read it over and over again, proud of him yet grieving at the thoughts this teenager was having. Yesterday I was conscious all day, even while I was so happy, that many were not with their families because they were serving us abroad or had died in our service.
Yesterday I realized that although I'm still not fit to go in place of that kid or others, I am in a position to help his family and other's families, and I am so grateful for that. I am so grateful that I was able to cook dinner for my family. I am so grateful that Chief No-Nag stood by me through all of it, and turned to me the other day and told me that he was lucky to have me. I am so grateful to be contributing to life in any way at all.
I am so grateful to live in this country, and I'm so thankful that my parents taught me the habit of gratitude. It is one of the most healing, rational patterns of thought a human being can learn. I love Thanksgiving. It seems such a quintessentially American holiday. A day of gratitude for our blessings. A day of gratitude for our families. A day of gratitude for the blessings of others, and a day to remember those less fortunate and try to share what we have with them.
I hope you all either had such a day of happiness and gratitude with your own families or will have such a day in the future. It is what life is really all about.
Tom has the contact site for the Army Emergency relief organization. He says that in his 30 years of experience he saw this organization come through for the soldiers over and over again. One of my private rituals on Thanksgiving Day is to figure out who I am giving to that year, and this year I'm including AER, thanks to Tom's mention of it. I always give to the Salvation Army, and I usually try to pick on small unknown charity and give something to it as well. There are incredible numbers of these types of organizations around, and they are truly something to be thankful for. Here is a good example of what a difference this type of organization can make.
And finally, a shocking discovery of my own:
I'm all right! Yesterday I was wildly busy, cooking and cleaning and doing all sorts of things, and I got it all done, and I got it all done right. By evening I was so astonished that I was overwhelmed with thankfulness. I never cry, except at funerals, but I have had tears in my eyes last night and this morning.
I have a disease which is incurable, and several years ago I was so bad off that I often couldn't even dress myself, and I couldn't talk very well, and I could hardly read or write. I was literally too stupid to boil water - I remember trying to boil water to make tea three days running and failing at it.
I have come back a long way, and yesterday drove it home. After 9/11 I became quite depressed for about nine months. I knew that we were at war, whether we wanted to concede it or not. I grieved for all the young people whose lives would be affected and those who would die or be maimed, and their families. I was despairingly angry at the knowledge that my useless life would be preserved by the sacrifice of those promising lives. It seemed so terribly, terribly wrong.
I remember a letter a 17-year old wrote to our local paper that October, saying that he was prepared to go but that he wanted to make sure that his brother wouldn't have to go, so that there would be someone left to take care of his parents when they got older. I read it over and over again, proud of him yet grieving at the thoughts this teenager was having. Yesterday I was conscious all day, even while I was so happy, that many were not with their families because they were serving us abroad or had died in our service.
Yesterday I realized that although I'm still not fit to go in place of that kid or others, I am in a position to help his family and other's families, and I am so grateful for that. I am so grateful that I was able to cook dinner for my family. I am so grateful that Chief No-Nag stood by me through all of it, and turned to me the other day and told me that he was lucky to have me. I am so grateful to be contributing to life in any way at all.
I am so grateful to live in this country, and I'm so thankful that my parents taught me the habit of gratitude. It is one of the most healing, rational patterns of thought a human being can learn. I love Thanksgiving. It seems such a quintessentially American holiday. A day of gratitude for our blessings. A day of gratitude for our families. A day of gratitude for the blessings of others, and a day to remember those less fortunate and try to share what we have with them.
I hope you all either had such a day of happiness and gratitude with your own families or will have such a day in the future. It is what life is really all about.
Comments:
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Thanks for supporting Army Emergency Relief! There are lots of great charities, but AER is an especially appropriate one right now.
Personally, I'm thankful that there are folks like you out there. We're all lucky to have you, too!
Personally, I'm thankful that there are folks like you out there. We're all lucky to have you, too!
This is a very nice post. I agree that it is important to maintain perspective about what goes on in Iraq. Our media is based in a weird dichotomy that states only bad news gets reported. I would be interseted to take a state like California (since Iraq is approximately the same size) and then report every kidnapping, carjacking, murder, and armed robbery and then compare them to the same number of crimes in Iraq. My gut feeling is that they would be comparable.
Another charity along the lines of the AEF is the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society, they do mcuh of the same stuff. I feel proud that people like you are helping our servicemembers out there.
Thanks,
Kev
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Another charity along the lines of the AEF is the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society, they do mcuh of the same stuff. I feel proud that people like you are helping our servicemembers out there.
Thanks,
Kev
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