Yesterday, I had a day. I wasn’t feeling all that well to begin with… (I was not necessarily sick… but blah was the word.) I got through the morning okay… but everything started to fall apart once I tried to leave the house in the afternoon. First, the cat threw up on the carpet as I was walking out the door. Okay. No biggie. I cleaned up her mess quickly and ran down the stairs to the communal front door. Just to remember that I left my bag in the apartment. Back up one and a half flights of stairs. Got the bag. Went downstairs again. Realized that I forgot my cell phone too. So back up the stairs… key in the deadbolt, retrieved the phone, right back down. Making sure I had absolutely EVERYTHING, I proceeded to double time it to my bus stop about 3/4 of a mile away. In the rain. (I had an umbrella, but since I was now short on time due to the cat and my forgetfulness, I decided to just run without taking the time to dig through my stuff.) So almost soaking, I did make my bus on time – thankfully – and went to my destination.
My meeting ran a bit long, so I missed the first bus returning home. That was fine… I could deal with that. I still had daylight at the time, but the next bus was scheduled to arrive 30 minutes later. It was still raining (and colder to boot, since the sun was setting), so I spent my time at a CVS wandering the aisles. I had no errands to run at the pharmacy… anything to keep dry and warm. So I went back to my bus stop at the appointed time, waited a few minutes… and the bus just. Drove. Right. Past. Me. Sighing, I looked up when the next bus to my destination would arrive. 45 freakin’ minutes.
Wah!
You know the feeling when you’re absolutely done and just want to raise up a white flag in defeat? That was me. Reevaluating my options, I decided to catch the next bus going anywhere at all. Hopefully one that would stop at a metro station. I boarded the bus… got off at a Metro station kind of out of my way, boarded the subway… and eventually got to my neighborhood.
Mine.
I realized as soon as I arrived that I had no food at home. (I was planning to stop by the grocery store on the way home… but now it was dark AND cold. Not gonna happen.) So I quickly bought a wrap at a fast food place near the station and boarded my (last) bus to go home. Finally back at my apartment, I greeted the cat, opened my wrap and proceeded to eat. I wanted something to drink though, so I went to the kitchen briefly to fill a glass with water. When I returned, my half eaten wrap was on the floor… the cat had knocked it over and probably ate some of it. (Incidentally, she has diarrhea today.) So much for dinner. Thankfully, by this point, I wasn’t that hungry anyway. So I went to bed early, and here we are today. Let’s hope for a much better day!!!
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So now that I’ve spent hours talking about my day… let’s talk about the day that counts: Veterans Day! Contemplating the “holiday” (that I do not have off… boo!), I realized that that the United States commemorates several days for our men in uniform. Let’s review:
- Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. It originated after the Civil War. The traditional date of observance was May 30, but due to the Uniform Holidays Bill passed in 1968, the holiday was moved to the last Monday in May to allow for a convenient three day weekend for most Americans. Some advocate the return to the original date, because they believe it cheapens the holiday. Indeed, most of us use it to herald the beginning of summer, rather than to remember the fallen.
- A lesser known holiday (to civilians, anyway) Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May. The day was created in 1949 to honor Americans serving in all five U.S. military branches – the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard after all were consolidated into the Department of Defense.
- While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day (Nov. 11) is set aside to thank and honor ALL of those who served in the military (not just our guys) — in wartime or peacetime. An international holiday also known as Armistice Day in other countries, November 11 commemorates the signing of the Armistice ending World War I.
So… to all of those that have served in military for your respective countries, I wish you the bestest of days. I certainly hope that you do not have the kind of day I experienced yesterday… As for me, today I’ll take a hike in my (literal) backyard – Arlington National Cemetery – to remember our troops.
[And remember to make a wish at 11/11/11 at 11:11!!!! (You have two option to make said wish… AM or PM. I suppose you can also make a wish at 1:11… Otherwise you’ll have to wait until next year, 12/12/12 at 12:12.)]
No Disrespect 