Monday, January 19

....that our flag was still there....

My husband loves football. I like the sportsmanship. I like touchdowns. I like the rush of excitement from winning a game, especially a championship game. But.... it is very hard for me to sit still long enough to watch a game in its entirety.

So... with that the last five minutes of the fourth quarter are my 2nd favorite part of the game... my first you ask????? Is the singing of the National Anthem. My husbands too. We have been known to rewind (do you love DVR like us) and listen to it a second time if they truly nailed the song. This past Sunday Myla and I were at a birthday party and my husband sent me a text message just to tell me that Jordin Sparks did a fantastic job and that he recorded it for me. (that is just how much we are into it...I smiled and loved him more for thinking of me)



I remember many moons ago watching a game with my hubby and father in law... the guy (hubby's dad) was in tears and choking up during the song... that's when it hit me, this song is more than just verus' that I had to learn in school. I have never been in combat... I was just living in my own oblivion and living the life that so many do, in a time and a place that we expect these privileges be our own. We have never fought for them. This man, my father in law, has fought... he was an immigrant who vowed to protect a country that offered hope to his family who had come from Poland originally, and then fled to Venezuela and then came to the States in hope of a better life. He enlisted in the Army I believe when he turned 18... there is such a huge story and history of his life that I won't try to write at this moment in fear that I would get it wrong. (This would call for its own post which is stirring around in my mind.)

What I do know... is that from that moment, around 9 years ago, that song, this song gives me chills... makes me proud... and as a mom I want my children to appreciate all that has happened before them. Witnessing that amount of patriotism from one man, brought an understanding of my freedoms that I daily take for granted.... I love my country. I love my family. And above all I love life and hope that everyone experiences the depth of love that I have been able to witness and enjoy. My life is far from perfect, but it is my life and my family.

There are so many versions of this song from so many performers... I remembered this one from earlier this season (football) and she, who I have no idea where she came from or who she is... was one that we replayed a few times just to hear her rendition... very well I think. When she says 'streaming' I shudder!

My son knows that today is a holiday. Martin Luther King he says fought for peace. He has brown skin and ours is peach. Something happened on a bus. He was shot. He made a difference. (he is 5)

My thought is how lucky we are to live in a time when we don't even see the significance. Years and years from now.... what will my great grandchildren be learning in social studies???