Remembrance Day Service in Victoria, BC

'LEST WE FORGET'

Yesterday my hubby and I traveled down to Victoria, BC to visit his daughter and her boyfriend. While we were there, we went to the Parliament Buildings and took in the Remembrance Day service. It was a beautiful day and a lovely service. Turns out that close to 10 thousand people showed up. I was very encouraged to see so many businesses closed, some with a sign in the door stating they were closed in honour of the fallen soldiers. Thank goodness that many people still remember and honour those soldiers. But it was mostly all the smaller businesses, not the bigger companies. And it is the bigger companies that can well afford to close their doors for the day.

I had started a Facebook page boycotting my favorite store because I had received an email update from them saying they would be open on November 11. I felt compelled to let them know how I felt about their decision and I wanted others to know as well, so that they may also be motivated to tell the stores they frequent that it is not acceptable. As long as customers shop on Remembrance/Veteran's Day and do not speak up, the stores will continue to stay open. Sadly, money talks. It is my hope that amidst our drive for so-called 'progress', growth and big business, we will not forget the very reason we are able to enjoy and celebrate the important things that have made our country what it is; namely freedom, democracy and a sense of community. Perhaps my boycotting effort will not, in and of itself, make a significant difference, but I am hopeful that in doing so, I may have ignited a spark in others to do the same in their communities and let the stores know how they feel. If we continue to shop on that day, the stores will stay open; supply and demand.

I feel strongly that if something is important to us, we need to make it known. And our children desperately need role models. If we as parents take a stand, our children will learn what is really important to us and what is worth believing in. Just as we honour the veterans who have been our heroes, let us be heroes to our children. None of us are perfect parents, myself included. But our children don't need us to be perfect... they need us to give them something to believe in. Something bigger than ourselves. Thank you to all those who gave their lives to give us freedom.

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE - Bottle Design by Cheryl

Story and Photo by Micki Findlay

I have always had such a fascination with the whole 'Message in a Bottle' concept. I mean, how romantic would it be to find an abandoned bottle laying on the shore with a love note inside it from a mysterious stranger? There is something about it that just warms the 'cockles of my heart'... the fact that someone, somewhere, at some time wrote a note to a loved one they had lost track of and, thereby possessed enough faith to dare believe that if they stuffed their message in a bottle and threw it out to sea, that there could be a possibility that their loved one may one day find it and return.

It makes me think about the power of hope. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk once said, “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
So true! I believe that courage is a by-product of hope. Is this the ramblings of an idealist? Guilty as charged. I do have my practical side as well. But I believe that how a person looks at life determines how they survive through the devastating times.

So is the whole Message in a Bottle idea silly and frivolous? Or is it empowering to the one sending the message? When I think of how I met my husband David, I know there is such a thing as miracles, but that is a story for another day. Figuratively speaking, I guess you could say that I threw a bottle into the sea in hopes that I would one day meet someone like him: my soul mate, at last.

A2SeaCreations.com