A statement or a command? In my younger days, the teacher often commanded, “Remember … how to spell a word, or the name of a country, or to do your homework. With friends and family, it is often a question. “Remember when we did that thing? Went to that place? Or when you said such and such?”
Remembrance is a privilege for the average person who is capable of retaining knowledge and life experiences. Even recalling bad things helps us steer clear of more of the same. Remembering people is also a gift, especially the ones who taught you skills, or made you feel wonderful, or fed you delicious food. Most of our memories are our treasures. Some of them we would rather not recall, but even those can give us wisdom, shape our character and teach us to forgive.
The challenge I have with remembrance is trying to recall something I did not experience. Like war. I’ve never fought in a war, or lived through a war. Nor have I ever been close to a country at war. Both of my parents lived during WWII in the occupied Netherlands. They remembered it every day of their lives. Now that my mother is 96 and suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, I am almost positive the war is something she would be glad to forget. But I believe it shaped her life in so many ways. Had she forgotten about it, she would have to forget about the resilience of her family and the victory of surviving 5 years of brutal war.
My husband is a Canadian Veteran, a soldier who fought in other people’s wars around the world. He has told me that he would rather forget those years of his life because they still linger like the smell of cooked cabbage. It stinks. But again, he is the man he is today because of what he has seen and experienced. He is a protector at heart.
Every year we are told to remember the wars that were fought to make this country free and the men who were lost because of it. I can’t remember, because I wasn’t there. But it doesn’t take a genius to imagine life without our freedoms. One only has to look at the news to see how Ukraine is affected by war. If remembering keeps us from fighting, then let’s remember. But I would argue that wars are not started because of amnesia. We all know that war comes after years of poor leadership, tyranny and a lack of democracy. Forgive me for simplifying.
The point I am trying to make is this: remembering is about gratitude. We can be thankful for our freedom, for our leaders, for those who fought for their country and for democracy in our country. We can also choose to love those who have lost so much due to wars. Many soldiers suffer silently with PTSD, families have lost loved ones, and others worry for relatives who are suffering in another country even now. Love looks like kindness, a handwritten note, a gift card, babysitting, homemade soup, or simply listening.
If you are one of those people, I want to thank you for being brave, for being resilient and for never giving up. I am glad you are here. Be honoured today, on this Remembrance Day, November 11th, 2026.
