“The willingness of America’s veterans
to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.”
– Jeff Miller
We are proud of those who serve our nation, past and present. We are proud of those sons and daughters that we know by name and those we know by heart. They are all our children. Words are never enough to explain the depth of gratitude we owe these brave men and women. Thank you for your service. We love you more than you know.
I have shared my family’s experience and sorrow about 9/11. On this anniversary of 9/11, I want to share the powerful words of poet, author, and mentor, Judyth Hill. We must wage peace and breathe.
Wage Peace by Judyth Hill
Wage peace with your breath.
Breathe in firemen and rubble,
breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.
Breathe in terrorists
and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields.
Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.
Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.
Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
Make soup.
Play music, learn the word for thank you in three languages.
Learn to knit, and make a hat.
Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
imagine grief
as the outbreath of beauty or the gesture of fish.
Swim for the other side.
Wage peace.
Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious:
Have a cup of tea and rejoice.
Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Don’t wait another minute.
Celebrate today.
“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.” – Abraham Lincoln
We are proud of those sons and daughters that we know by name and those we know by heart.They are all our children. There are no words to explain the depth of gratitude we owe these brave men and women and their families.
I am proud to say that my son, Sgt. Joe Reinart is a veteran. My Dad, Joseph Christopher Vayo was a veteran. Thank you to all who have served and for your many sacrifices. We are so proud of your commitment to us. We love you more than you know.
On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty naiton!
~Thomas W. Parsons
Today, we honor the brave men and women, who gave their lives for us serving in the United States Armed Forces. At Chagrin Falls High School, a small memorial honors graduates who died in service to their country.
Mary Jane Kashkoush is our own Gold Star mother. Her story “Perchance to Dream” is in Love You More Than You Know. Her beloved son, Sergeant Michael Kashkoush lost his life in Iraq. Michael was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. My daughter, Meme went to school with Michael.
On May 7, 2008, President Bush signed Public Law no-224, naming the Chagrin Falls Post Office in honor of Sergeant Michael Kashkoush.
Mary Jane said, “This process of grieving and reconnecting to life is like trying to tune into a station on a car radio, the dial-in-knob kind, with static coming over the airways. . . My heart aches. . . Home is where the heart is, and my Mike is always with me.”
We remember their sacrifices and pray for Gold Star families on this Memorial Day.
May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
And may God’s angels protect you the whole year through.
Happy July 4th. God bless America!
Love You More Than You Know 