The death of Osama Bin Laden, this past week, has caused me to reflect on this Army life much more deeply than I have in a long time. My boys are very young, much too young, to understand the death of a terrorist. How this man is responsible for devastating the lives of so many families and ultimately changing the course of the our entire nation. But nonetheless, his death makes me think of them and what I would tell them if they understood...when they understand.
Although it was nearly a decade ago, I remember September 11, 2001 as though it was yesterday. Awake before the rest of my family, I sat on our couch and watched in horror as the Twin Towers fell and clouds of destruction took their place in the New York City skyline. In that moment, even as a high school senior, I felt the weight of it and knew this day would forever change the world I was getting ready to enter. Later that same day, as I watched President Bush address the nation, I had a thought that given the course of my life seems more like a personal premonition than a general prediction. "It is going to be my peers, my friends, those getting ready to graduate with me, that would be fighting this war." What I didn't know then was that one day it would also be my husband...the father of my children, who would be fighting this war.
Now we are an Army family and our boys are now sons of a soldier. While we are a proud army family, I cannot deny the unique challenges and responsibilities this will bring. I would be naive to believe that this won't make my boys different...that it won't cause them to face things earlier than others their age. It will be impossible to shield them from many of the harsh realities of this world...war, death, hate. And it will be my job to help them make sense of it all, to teach, to guide, to listen, and to set the example.
So when the questions come, as they inevitably will, this will be my message. There are bad people in this world. Bad people who hate us and want to destroy our way of life. Soldiers, like their Daddy, are brave men and women who protect us from those bad people. Sometimes war is unavoidable and necessary...necessary to protect our families, our country, an our freedom. So we do not turn away from war, and are grateful to those who fight for us in courage and honor. But we are not lovers of war. We know that life is sacred, and to take the life of another, no matter how necessary or even deserved, should never be taken lightly or in celebration. For in the darkness of war it becomes even more important that we do not lose our own humanity in hatred and revenge. Most importantly, I want them to know that even though we are not afraid of the fight, we will always pray for peace.
