Moments D551: Poppy Time

Today I bought my first poppy of the season.  I know it's early, but I don't care.  I even bought a fancy poppy last year too, so I really didn't need to buy a poppy.  AND, I also have a poppy stabbed into the ceiling of my car as I feel we should be remembering those who fought for our freedoms everyday.  With the poppy above my head every day, I definitely have that daily reminder.  I just wanted to show my support.

Why the connection?  I suppose it's because my grandfather was a vet.  He never spoke of what he saw or what he had to deal with.  Not even on his death bed did he share his experience.  (My mother, nursing at his side until he passed, tried many times and ways to gather some information of his experience, if only to document his life fully.)

Needless to say, what we do know, is that it was traumatic and something he was unable to verbalize.

I've known this about my grandfather my entire life.  He fought in the war, then he came home and was, for the most part, an unhappy man.  I know that's highly simplified, but as a child, that is all I ever learned.  What I felt, was, that he was always distant to me.  Lost perhaps.

And because of what he suffered (after the war, back home), because I grew up not really ever knowing my grandfather due to his walls, I've always been sensitive to Remembrance Day.  This year, I smiled when I saw the volunteer selling poppies.  Let the remembering begin a little earlier.  Why not!?

As I pinned my first poppy of the season to my jacket (I always lose them!), I couldn't help thinking back to my grandfather's funeral years ago.  He had a legion funeral and his casket was covered in the bright red flower.  It was a beautiful sight to watch men in uniform salute a man I barely knew, who I called grandpa.  It was a bittersweet moment as I found myself filled with pride for his commitment, but also filled with such a depth of sadness knowing that he was never able to leave the past in the past.

Random share:  here he is with my grandma on their wedding day; just before he left to fight in the war:

The pinning of the poppy also also reminded me that we all have our own dark moments and darkness to overcome.  We have a choice, we can either let the darkness consume us, or we can walk through the darkness.

I will always (I hope!) walk through the darkness, for I never want to find myself lost, cold and distant.
Does that mean I will always be in the light?  No.  Not at all.  But I will fight to find it.  I will fight to walk a path of love and light because I do believe that walking in light and love is the only way to find peace.  Peace within and peace outside of self.

Moments remembering the war, its horrors and the people that suffered through it.

Moments remember that love and light are a path to peace.