Happy Love Thursday

So, one of the blogs I read faithfully, http://wouldashoulda.com/, by the fabulous Mir, does a Love Thursday post every week. In it, she finds something to reflect the love that surrounds us in this life.
Since I've been doing a fair bit of 'poor,poor pitiful me" thinking lately, I decided I needed to steal, er, borrow that idea.

It is Veterans Day. And while I am thankful for all those who served, who died serving, who lived to come home, and those who are still out there, I have a group of people who I think about when I read the In Flanders Field poem that I do every Veterans day.
It is the ladies of Arlington National Cemetery. They make sure that every veteran buried there has someone at their funeral, to stand and honor their service. Here's a link: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/anc-lady.htm
And they don't do it out of guilt, or money, or for publicity. They do it out of love, a love for those they have never met, and for the love of their country.
My father is buried at Arlington. The support and dignity that accompanied his funeral was amazing to me, even in the midst of our grief. Go to Arlington if you get a chance. It is overwhelming, and sad, but there is a sense, to me, of love, of tenderness, of care, for those who gave their life simply because they were doing what they believed was their duty. Some willingly went to war, some were sent. Some died on that field, some died inside on that field, and some came home to live a life full and happy and died years later. But war changes everyone who touches it, and who is touched by it. The only cure for war, and the only cure for heartache caused by war? Love.
So love those around you, love them with every ounce of your being, so that the love may spread, and through love, we may beat our swords into plowshares.
Happy Love Thursday.