Today is Father's Day! A special day for all the dads out there, to acknowledge all they've done for us. Today was a great day with my little family. After a week of rain, and more today, there was no way we were leaving the house, so we snuggled up on the couch this afternoon to watch The Sound Of Music. An odd choice if you ask me! You'd think Scott would've chosen something with a little more action, but we haven't seen it for ages and wanted to see what the boys thought of it. They enjoyed the music, but there wasn't enough going on to keep them occupied so we decided to put the movie on hold until nap time. Once the boys were down for their nap we forged ahead. In the movie there is a song called "Edelweiss". It brought back memories of the musical production at my high school the year I was in grade 12, and more recently, the funeral of a classmate and friend. He had played Captain Von Trapp in the production, and the song was performed by his uncle at the funeral after he was killed by an IED in Afghanistan in October of 2009. I began to think about his family, spending another Father's Day without him, and how lucky we are to be together. This also brought back a conversation I had with my brother yesterday. He is currently completing a three month training exercise at CFB Gagetown. He was telling me about his experience on Friday night when him and some other guys from the course had gone out to a bar in Fredericton. For some reason, a large number of people in the surrounding area take issue with the military presence. Don't get me wrong, I don't speak for the entire population of New Brunswick. All I know is what my brother described to me, and let me just say that the details are appalling. They were told before leaving base to remove all military paraphernalia, dog tags included. Apparently if people see them, they will pick a fight with you. Military personnel are not welcome at many of the local hotels. If you call a cab and mention that you are returning to Gagetown, your cab will never arrive; you must flag one down on the street and hope that they will stop for you. My brother said he spent the evening, huddled up with his buddies in the bar, being accosted by anyone that passed by. I suppose even in street clothes, with no dog tags in sight, the haircuts are a dead giveaway.
I'm constantly irritated by the general attitude towards the military. There's a saying I've heard many times before that goes, "if you won't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them". This resonates deeply with me because while I personally would not join the military, I will stand behind each and every member 100% in their mission to "protect Canada, defend North America in co-operation with the U.S. and contribute to international peace and security" (
http://www.forces.ca/en/page/mission-74).
To recap...This entire blog stemmed from watching The Sound Of Music with my husband and sons this afternoon. From there I was reminded of a high school musical (not that terrible movie of the same name), a friend's passing and then the general attitude towards the military, based on my brother's experience on a Friday night off base. Sorry for the meandering thought process, but if you know me, you know that that's how my brain works. Haha
So, to all the dads out there, have a fantastic day with your families, not just on Father's Day, but every day. And to the service men and women, in Canada and abroad, thank you for all that you do. This Canadian stands behind you in solidarity.
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