CRYING: Because Sometimes I Feel Blue Even on TnT Tuesday

“Tears are words that need to be written.”

– Paolo Coelho

For the past month or so, I’ve been recording a song for TikTok to celebrate Tacos and Tiaras Tuesday, but I’m not feeling it.

Today is the 245th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, and tomorrow is Veterans Day. Thinking about both sparked thoughts and emotions and a little bit of humor. When I cried over some of it, I figured I needed to take a break and sit with my feelings a while. Feeling empathetic sucks.

• I wish more people would take a personal oath to love one another. Military men and women take an oath. They vowed to follow orders no matter what, which means putting ego aside and making their thoughts and feelings on a matter irrelevant. I don’t know how far it goes when we choose love over fear, but without thinking much about it, I feel pretty sure the outcome is better.
• I feel sad thinking about every family who has ever let go of a loved one who died while serving our country. I grew up with a lot of friends and classmates who are children of Vietnam Veterans. Our parents, regardless of which one served, made sacrifices for our family. Some of our parents did not make it home alive. Some of our parents live with PTSD, which during our childhood was not recognized like it is today.
• My son is a Marine. I didn’t realize the USMC was renting my uterus 21 years ago. I feel proud of him for his willingness to commit to serving our country.
• I support veteran-owned businesses because they spent part of adulthood serving our country before starting their business. I become and remain a customer, client, or cheerleader of their business because they earned it long before they went into business.

So when I was done crying over some of those thoughts, I realized I may as well share, but I’m done with the parts that I hope will get you thinking too. The rest is for me and my journal to work through it.

Luceat lux vestra.