So Many Different Suns

I wrote this a couple of years ago and have returned to it on an annual basis since then because the sentiment, like the event itself, is an evergreen and a calendar fixture. And at this time of year with the rush for relentless cheerfulness ever escalating, taking a moment to reflect and respect is certainly not out of place. So, thank you for the kindness of your indulgence again.

We are only slightly more than waist deep in that most wonderful time of the year where far more than just the halls end up decked with boughs of holly and tinsel, eight different kinds of lights (all energy-saving LEDs of course), ornaments of all shapes, sizes, and colors (with price tags to match) and most of us struggling to swim upstream in a sea of customers wherever we do our holiday shopping, buying gifts and presents instead of enjoying the presence of the gift of family and friends.

Because of the hectic head noise that seems to be a part of our Yuletide preparations and celebrations, we end up staring at the (Christmas) trees too often without seeing the forest. I hesitated while typing ‘trees’ in case it serves as a reminder or trigger because you have yet to get yours, adding another chore to your to-do list.

Between all the hurried holiday greetings and in the midst of the manufactured merriment, you may wish for a moment you could use to catch your emotional breath rather than another big box store bargain and to collect your thoughts and count your blessings instead of gathering your purchases and pocketing your change. Something, anything.

If you seek respite from the holiday if only for a few minutes, I have a suggestion courtesy of the Norwich Area Veterans Council for an event that’s really more of a moment.  It’s this Saturday at noon in Taftville’s Sacred Heart Cemetery; but it's not a unique-to-Norwich event, not by any means.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Wreaths Across America whose three-fold mission is to Remember, Honor, and Teach. Every year this national outreach coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies on veterans’ graves on a Saturday in December (this one coming up) at Arlington in Virginia as well as veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in each of our 50 states, at sea, and in over two dozen cemeteries in other countries where US military members have been buried.

I’ve attended previous ceremonies at Sacred Heart while I admire the power of words, I concede I don’t know enough or the right ones to adequately describe an event that is a heartfelt and homegrown acknowledgment of the lives of our departed veterans (of all services and from every conflict and era of our history). You should experience it for yourself.

It is both a gathering and a reflection of our community in remembering the fallen, honoring those still in service and teaching one another that freedom is free only with sacrifice. 

I’ll save a place for you Saturday at noon.

-bill kenny