Patriot's Day

I didn't know that today was officially known as Patriot's Day. I don't know why I was unaware of it, I just thought it was more of an unofficial moniker. It would seem to me to be unnecessary to mark this day with any name, as I will never forget the events of that horrible day. I mean, is there a name attached to December 7th or November 22nd or even April 12th? (If you know what is important about these dates, I invite you to comment to this post.) I don't need a calendar date to remember those I consider Patriots to this country.

In any case, I digress. For those of you who don't know already, Rachel and I are guardians to our nephews while their parents are on active duty in the Army overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. We enrolled them in the local elementary school, and they seem to really like it. Well, seeing as Becky is stationed at one of the air bases in Iraq, she was able to get an American Flag for Zach and Daniel that had been flown on an F-16 fighter, and one that was flown on a Chinook helicopter as well. She also went the extra mile of getting another two flags for the elementary school that were also flown on the same aircraft. We made sure the administration got the flags, and accompanying certificates. Well, Rachel received a phone call last week from the principal of the school. Being that I am who I am, a call from the principal at home is never something you look forward to. In this case, I was fine ... no suspension for me this time for trying to look up the girls skirts. She said that they were having an assembly to recognize Patriot Day at the school, and wanted to present the flags to the student body on that day. They also wanted to honor Becky and Eric, and have the boys recognized for their parents efforts. She just wanted to make sure that it was okay if they did that, and for us to make every effort to be there for the assembly. I had a doctor's appointment today, Rachel dropped the girls off at a friends house, and we met for the assembly. The principal had invited the Pottstown Mercury newspaper to the event, and they decided to show. They interviewed Rachel and I, the boys, and took some pictures. The principal ran down the basic tentpoles of the assembly, and then she said she was going to be recognizing us as well as the boys and their parents. Rachel got nervous, because we would be sitting in front of the entire student body, and have to stand at some point.

So, the kids start to file in, and it's the normal rowdiness that precedes all elementary school assemblies. Nice to know that this didn't change from when I was their age, too. This time, though, it's Rachel and I sitting in front watching them, instead of me being in the audience wondering who the odd looking bald man was sitting next to the hot lady. It was a nice presentation, the boys told where their parents were stationed and what they did for the Army. The boys teachers from last year, and this year held the flags up for the students to see. The principal, true to her word, introduced Rachel and I as the boys guardians and as Patriots to the country as well for our service to the country. I almost teared up at this point, because I never thought of this being a big deal. Whenever someone would say to me, "You are making such a huge sacrifice" or "I don't know if I could do something that big, for anyone" my counter was always, it's family. You do what you have to for your family, because you love them. I am proud to do this, as it shows a huge level of trust in Rachel and I from Becky and Eric. I did it for those reasons, not to be lauded or recognized publicly. I did it because I was asked to. If someone wants to buy me a HD Big Screen Television now or replace my iPod that they lost, I won't complain. *giggles* Otherwise, this is Rachel's and my labor of love. Just nobody else better get any ideas, we gave at the office.

I am not sure if the paper is going to run this story or not, it's really up to them. If you want to check out the website, it might be on there: http://www.pottsmerc.com/ also available at your local WaWa or Turkey Hill.