November 11

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the Armistice was signed, marking the beginning on the end of World War 1 (it's official end was seven months later on June 28, 1919).  In Canada, we call this day Remembrance Day.

Being the daughter of a retired Military Officer, we have always celebrated Remembrance Day, whether it was a ceremony downtown, or in a park, at a cenotaph or a legion.  I remember celebrating when we had a posting in the US, where it's Veteran's Day not Remembrance Day.  My parents took us out of school and we went to the Canadian ceremony on the base, we wore our Girl Scout uniforms and laid wreathes.  

This year, Nora learned about it at school.  She's three.  Yet she understands that sometimes, Mommies and Daddies need to go away to help make the world a better place.  She doesn't understand why some people aren't always nice.  It's hard to explain war to my 3 year old.  I don't even understand it myself.  

I remember being young, and not understanding why my Dad might have to go away to fight the "bad guys", and I remember my Mom trying to explain it to me (this was during the Gulf War - when we were stationed at a US base).  I also remember exactly where I was on 9/11 and watching the second tower fall.  I know exactly where I was when I heard that two CF Members had been hit by a car in Quebec, and where I was when I heard that a soldier was shot at the War Memorial Ottawa. There are days that I don't understand what this world is coming to.  But on days like today, I remember that we are here, and we are free to write blogs, go to schools, and live normal lives because of the soldiers that go out there and put their lives on the line for us every day. 

So thank you.  To all the soldiers who have served, who currently serve, who will join up, their spouses and families, and to those who didn't make it back home.  Thank you.  A million thank you's and much love to you all.  

The official end of World War 1 (The Great War) was on June 28, 1919, when the armistice with Germany went into effect. The armistice was seven months earlier on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. The war was regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”