I FOUND IT!
The days and moments of celebration, remembrance of those(veterans and our sacrifices)that have served have always been difficult.
You remember what you did and the sacrifices made. You remember the brave men and women who were brothers and sisters that were lost. You contemplate the impact you had, whether it be positive or negative.
Reflection of your service and the reality that you are back. thinking of the people that do not know what you know or experienced what you have. There is resentment and happiness that civilians don’t know.
They say thank you. It feels empty-hearted but appreciated at the same time. Someone doesn’t say it and I get irritated.
This constant state of ambivalence has become stressful, fighting with myself to find a resolution…
When I am thanked for my service or asked why I work on such days of celebration, I have become resolute to such an answer.
Person: thank you for your service
and/or
person: why are you here on your day of service
Me: because/ my service is not yet over.
This answer allows me to have hope for those that do not see the value, for those who do not understand, and for the hope that the work I continue to do will assist those in their discovery not only of the value in veterans but in the value of themselves to see theirs on contributions to our world!
So I say, thank you, thank you for being a person worth fighting for.
my service is not yet done.
-Travis Knowlton
