LIFE MATTERS

A day of thanks

By LINDA PETERSEN
Posted 11/7/19

Everyone who has served our country should be thanked and appreciated.

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LIFE MATTERS

A day of thanks

Posted

My bed is especially comfy, with floral smelling, flannel sheets and a warm, 25-year-old down comforter. We have the shades drawn and an air humidifier that lulls us to sleep in the darkness.

Hubby and I have “My” pillows, but they are pillows of our own choosing and no particular brand, with two of them plumped up under my head. With the day’s work behind me and another new day to look forward to, I sleep soundly with a smile on my face.

On television, I saw United States soldiers in the Middle East sleeping on green camp cots out in the open, under the scorching sun. Because of the heat, no blanket was needed, but the soldiers were covered with a green mosquito net, giving their skin a Grinch-like appearance. They sleep out in the open because, at any time, they need to be ready to fight. Their sleep is edgy, not the restful, deep type of sleep that we are used to, and they are certainly not comfy.

My favorite foods are lobster dripping in butter, the bacon, cheese, broccoli and tomato quiche Hubby makes on Sunday mornings, shrimp scampi on risotto, steak “number 9” rice bowl at D’Angelo’s, and warm bread pudding with whipped cream. Pumpkin pie and Halloween candy are treats that only come once a year, and lately I’ve had my fill.

The soldiers in the traveling units in the Middle East depend upon MREs when out in the field – “meals ready to eat.” New scientific inventions have enabled these pouches of food to heat themselves, thus improving the flavor of the meatloaf with gravy and beef goulash. (I have to admit to prejudice, as I abhor both of these meals.) Newer MREs do come in better culinary choices such as the spinach, mushrooms and fettuccini with cream sauce, but they don’t come close to lobster dripping with butter.

The climate in the Middle East is pretty consistent throughout the year, with only two seasons – summer and winter. Both are hot and dry. In the summer, temperatures can reach as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit and days can get very humid. Because it is a vast desert area, rainfall is negligible, and each day can look like the next.

Fall here in Rhode Island is such a lovely time of year, with the leaves changing colors, the mums in full bloom and a little nip in the air. Even though the leaves have to be raked into bags, the extra work is forgiven. (Does anyone remember burning leaves on the side of the street? Just raking them brings back that found, olfactory memory.)

Yet, the winter is coming. The holidays will soon be here to distract us from the ominous clouds and frigid and icy weather. Walking in freshly fallen snow is, at first, a delight! Then snowstorms pile up week after week. Soon a “big one” will come and we will be stranded inside, doomed to spend the day relaxing on the couch watching movies and eating popcorn.

But in another month or two, poking up through the snowy remnants, buds will be seen trying to reach the daylight. Within a month or two, flowers will be in full bloom, bees and butterflies flying around them.

As time goes on, summer sneaks up on us. The weather warms up and family gatherings, picnics and trips to the beach abound. Soon, we have come full circle and it is autumn again, another joyous time of crisp air and colored leaves. It is a time to be thankful.

Veterans Day is around the corner. It would be unfair of me to compare the soldiers in the Middle East to all soldiers, as the vast majority of living situations for our U.S. soldiers are far superior. But all soldiers unselfishly give of themselves – away from their families, often wounded, often maltreated when they return, and often psychiatrically damaged from the horrors they faced and the things they have had to do.

Everyone who has served our country should be thanked and appreciated. They did it so I could have the freedom to eat my lobster dripping in butter and sleep a peaceful sleep in my comfy bed.

Thank you to all of our veterans!

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