Isle D'amour

Today while standing with the color guard, the MC gave an honor to a World War II veteran.  This man stood alongside with his granddaughter and daughter.  When his name was called he looked up, finally realizing that it was him that was given the honor.  As he began walking, his steps were small, slow, and somewhat unbalanced.  I watched his granddaughter take his arm and help him to the front.  

The man himself looked aged.  His hair, gray and thinned out.  His body was so frail looking, so fragile that one bump could break him into scattered out pieces. Although I stood from a distance I could see his eyes, hidden behind his thick lensed glasses.  They were drooping and tired.

What had this man seen that others standing before him hadn’t?  He’d seen what we only can imagine from the books we read and hear about.  I can’t imagine what he physically saw while on the battle front.  In fact, nobody can.

So many thoughts and questions came to mind as I watched this man carefully make his way up to the memorial statue. 

A woman was waiting to hand off to him a wreath that represented what this man fought for, what he survived through, and what he gave to every single free man living in America.  As he opened his hands to take it, I saw that he was skin and bones now.  Simply living on Earth.  His presence and soul simply here, and on this day it was being honored.  

After he place the wreath on the memorial, I watched him walk back to where him, his daughter and granddaughter were standing.  The entire time the young girl held on to his arm helping him.  

In the time this scene was taking place, it reminded me of when I was a little girl helping my grandpa walk up to the memorial in Brimfield.  When we reached the memorial, he’d salute me in his uniform, and stand tall and proud.  As each year went by I would watch him, until he could no longer walk up to that memorial and was sentenced to the last years of his life in a wheel chair.  In the last year of his life he would wear his army hat until he passed.

That veteran walking with his granddaughter brought me to tears and back to remember my own grandpa.

It’s funny how someone will never realize just how much you really adore and love them.  

For years now, I can’t handle it anymore.

He’s just darling!

The cutest part about all of it is that I’ve watched him grow up each year…yet he isn’t that different from two or three years ago…merp.

What a bro he is. ;)