This week I’m going to blog about Veterans Day, and try my best to give an insiders perspective. Kevin, my spouse has served 9 years in the Marine Corps, and done multiple deployments to countless deserts. In fact, name a desert in the middle east and he’s probably been there. Now he is with the National Guard and will be deploying in February for a year, to yet again, another desert. I could take this post a completely different direction about how much stress and crap that puts on the spouses, and the stages of grief (I’m somewhere between denial, and thermo-pissed off!) but this is about Veterans Day, Military Spouse Day is some forgotten Friday in May. I digress.

November in general is a big deal to Marines, the 10th is the Marine Corps birthday, where every Marine comes together and celebrate their birthday, in well, true Marine fashion. I’m going to leave that as vague as possible because no description I can assign to the event could possibly do it justice. It’s an experience to witness as an outsider and that's all I’m going to say.

So in November Marines get to celebrate their birthday, then pay homage on Veteran Day. Notice I said pay homage, not celebrate as it is a somber day, and not a day of sale shopping, holiday kick-off B.S., idiots in this country has turned it into.

Back to homage. We are a unique generation where war has been the norm. This is the longest war America has been in, and in its wake are millions of service members. Many of whom say that the time in service was the best they’d ever had. That they’d do it again in a heartbeat, despite the battered bodies, broken families and damage that the war has cost them. From the civilian side, we see these people in our everyday lives. Few feel obligated to give thanks, some give cash and say “go get a beer on me.” I've been with my husband countless times where people have given him a handshake and a thanks, and on some occasions covered our lunch tab. I think these are all wonderful things. People at least notice them as different. Quite frankly they are. But hand shakes and cash, to me, makes the sacrifice seem cheap. I think more than anything on Veterans Day, our veterans want to know that they made a difference. That their sacrifice was worth something. On Veterans Day,families want to know that their sacrifices mean something. I’m so grateful that every time my husband has come home in one piece. Some families don’t get a homecoming.

On this Veterans Day, before you give an empty thank you, think of the true meaning behind the day, the true sacrifices, and what being A veteran means to THE veteran.