Blood, Sweat, And Tears

This morning, being a Saturday, it would normally be a recovery day.  But, everyone was out on their own individual missions and I just felt like pushing myself.  I didn’t attempt the treadmill.  We have company and I wanted to be as quiet as possible, be a good hostess and let her sleep in.  I didn’t walk outside.  It’s pretty chilly out there.  Instead, I opted to do a fast and furious workout.  I went down in our gym, closed the doors and did 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 butt lifts, 300 miscellaneous weight repetitions with the 5lb weights, 100 repetitions with the 6lb “empower” medicine ball, 100 repetitions with the 10lb kettle bell, 100 repetitions with the 15lb kettle bell, 100 jumping jacks (AKA side straddle hops).  Then I added walking up and down our stairs 10 ten times (that’s more than two hundred steps).  I feel pretty good right now. 

We set out bagged food for the scouts.  They are “Scouting for Food” today, collecting for the local ACTS food pantry.  Tomorrow, our scout troop will go to the pantry and sort what has been collected.       

Today, my husband and our youngest son are handing out buddy poppies as part of their scout community service project.  The scouts hand out poppies for a small donation which goes to fund local Veteran’s charities.  Have you ever wondered why they hand out poppies on Veteran’s Day Weekend?  I’ve contributed for years now but, believe it or not, even with my somewhat lengthy military background, I never knew the whole story behind the poppies.  My husband, an avid history buff, told us the story last night.  Our November 11^th Veteran’s Day, also known as Remembrance Day or Armistice Day is a memorial day observed since the end of World War I to remember the members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty.  It is observed by many countries to include Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and well, us in the United States on (or near in some cases) 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918; hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice ("at the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 a.m.)  The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of this day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red color an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

In Flanders Fields ~ by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.