This Veteran’s Day: Remember

Veteran’s Day is one of the things Canada does better than the United States. We call it Remembrance Day and I loved what an important part of our lives it was. At school, they distributed poppies for us to wear. We recited In Flander’s Fields. And we remembered.

I had forgotten the significance of the poppy:

This is because the corn poppy was one of the only plants that grew on the battlefield. It thrives in disturbed soil, which was abundant on the battlefield due to intensive shelling. During the few weeks the plant blossomed, the battlefield was coloured blood red, not just from the red flower that grew in great numbers but also from the actual blood of the dead soldiers that lay scattered and untended to on the otherwise barren battlegrounds.

Of course, my dear husband never forgets a holiday.

Jamie: Today is Veteran’s Day so I expect you to take really good care of me.

Me: Why? You’re not a veteran.

Jamie: No, but I could be.

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