Happy Veteran's Day!

What is Veteran’s Day? Aside from a Federal Holiday and an excuse to BBQ with family and friends, I mean. 

Veteran’s day is a holiday observed on November 11^th every year. The day off from school and work is typically the Monday or Friday closest to that day. It is a day to honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Other countries celebrate Armistice Day and/or Remembrance Day around the same time, marking the anniversary of the end of World War I. What a great thing to celebrate, right?

For many of those of us who are veterans, about a week before Veteran’s Day is a time for us to share photos of us while in the military. My personal favorites I like to post are located below. 

This is my favorite as a cover photo. It's my ribbon rack from my four years as active-duty in the Navy. I'm missing a few stars, but it's what I had at the time of this photo.

Me and Nikki: one of those die-hard friends you find in the military.

Doing Kennel support with my now husband and his MWD Pele.

Me and my baby boy, Austin; who's not a baby anymore.

 I have a LOT of great memories from being in the Navy. Of course, I have plenty of not so great memories; but I try not to dwell on those so much. I would have very likely spent at least twenty years in the Navy if the stars had aligned to allow me to do so. Unfortunately, when it came time for me to reenlist, the Navy was downsizing and my rate (job series) was at 110% manned. Needless to say, there were not many people getting approvals at the time to stay in. I took it hard for a while, but I know now that it was the best thing that could have happened to myself and my family.

I can actually say, that even though this may sound SUPER ridiculous, that I LOVE Veteran's Day. I love it for many reasons, but one of them is because it gives me an excuse--not that I need one--to post these pictures AND be proud of them. Otherwise, I'm just posting really old pictures, or God forbid, "looking for attention."

There is a lot of hate and discontent in the world right now; and something we can't even agree on anymore is whether or not veterans are even important--or deserve a day where we celebrate them and their sacrifices. A lot of people feel that veteran's are moochers, drama queens, pretenders, etc. Of course most of those name-callers are referring to military disability. I can say, from experience, that YES, there are plenty of people who fake illness and aches and pains to get money from the government each month. HOWEVER, there are more people who have REAL illness, aches, and pains who receive a military disability check. And some of those, such as myself, receive that check with a little bit of shame. I don't like to feel like a "moocher," but unfortunately, all of the name calling surrounding the subject has left me feeling this way. 

Another one is college.

When Bernie Sanders was running for president in the primary's and brought up free college, this opened the door for a huge fight about veteran's and their "free college." 

PSA: I know this is me technically bringing up politics which I promised to never do, but it's not about the politics, it's about the division. 

Some felt the GI Bill should be the way people go about getting free college. But here's my question about that. Is it free? I mean, sure, you're not paying tuition; but you didn't get the GI Bill by doing nothing.

I digress, and I apologize, but I'm leaving those two points in there because I believe they're important things to point out.

No matter what "type" of veteran somebody is, they're still a veteran. They still served in our military. Even those who did not see combat--such as myself--are still important to the military. The jobs done in our home-land are still important jobs!

So, I hope everyone has a great Veteran's Day weekend! Enjoy your barbecue's and family time, but don't forget take some time to appreciate what Veteran's Day is really about!