V.D. Is A Terrible Thing to Waste

And so I tell my children we need to thank some veterans today.

They sent emails to two cousins who served our country well - in Iraq. Because my cousins went through enough, what with constant death looming, I decided to spare them the hour and a half phone conversation that would have commenced had my children called them.

Oldest and Youngest like to talk. A lot.

I'm printing both boys' letters to said cousins here - because really these are messages for all our veterans. Not just the ones lucky enough to be related to me.

This is what Oldest transcribed to me and I typed it out - word for word:

Dear Danny,

Thank you for protecting our country on Veteran's Day. I hope you are having fun today. We might go to a Veteran's Hospital tomorrow because we don't have any school.

Thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for serving our country.

Was it really cold in Iraq when you were there? What was the food like? I like Japanese food. Did they have sushi in Iraq? Did you get to play Playstation and watch the Patriots play football? I bet you missed your friends from America. I miss my friends from Florida and I'm just in another state. Not another country.

So thank you for being a soldier.

This is Youngest's masterpiece:

Dear Jimmy,

Thank you very much for keeping our country safe and for protecting us. Was Iraq fun or terrible? You must be very brave. I would miss grilled cheese sandwiches and my girlfriend Chastity.

I think I would have cried a lot. You are probably like a hero or something. And we're related. So that's pretty cool.

Want to hear a funny story?

I got a whoopy cushion and put it on my mom's chair the other night for dinner. She sat on it and it made a loud noise! I looked at her, pointed my finger and said, "Catherine, not at the dinner table!" We all laughed.

You can visit sometime if you like.

Thank you for being a soldier. I'm glad you got out of the Army.

I know. Heartwarming.

And I totally knew that whoopy cushion was there.

Happy Veteran's Day to all. And thank you.