I am unsure where I got this from, but with Veterans Day being tomorrow it is appropriate.

Dear Sons and Daughters,

You have been dismissed as spoiled kids, the generation who had everything. And it's true, for we strived to give you everything, from the day we first cradled you in our arms til the day you left our homes, and beyond. For even today, our hearts ache that we cannot protect you, not from the horror that has struck our homeland, nor from the battle that you must face in our names, on foreign soil.

We raised you on stories of your grandparents, the Greatest Generation, and the war that engulfed the world. Never has a nation laid down so much, and so many, in the name of justice and freedom. Never has a single generation acquited themselves so honorably and decisively in matters so vital to their country.

We think of their sacrifices, and choke back tears, imagining the children we so love in the stench and clamor of the trenches, fighting on the front lines, returning in wheelchairs or worse. As always, we long to give you everything, and shelter you from pain and loss. We scream to ourselves that you aren't old enough, not experienced enough, just not ready .. when it is we who are not ready, and never can be ready, to send our children off to war. We didn't really take it seriously, you see, when you told us you were joining the service. We were so sure that we had secured peace for you, that there would never be a threat of any magnitude again.

How hard it is to be so wrong.

And so we find ourselves searching your face in the photograph you sent from boot camp, so soberly looking outward in front of the flag you had sworn to defend. What we see has always been there, we're startled that we never noticed. We see your pride, your determination, your resolve .. and your reason. We see Patriots.

And now, we'll look after your children, check in on your spouse. We'll watch the news religiously, as if our watchfulness can keep you safe. We'll go about our days wearing flags on our lapels, and pride in our hearts.

For now it is your time to define your generation, and your country.

Whatever happens, we know this thing for sure; as the world sees America in the faces of her defending sons and daughters, they will see courage, compassion, dignity, pride .. and yes, Greatness.

Love,

Mom