A day of celebration…

Veteran’s Day for the past 9 years has been a day of sadness for me. 11/11 – Veteran’s Day,  also happens to be my late husband Ace’s birthday. I normally stay home (it’s a work holiday for me) get sad,  release a message balloon to heaven, bake a cake, sing happy birthday, and then go about my normal activities the next day.

Today was different. Today I decided to celebrate life – to celebrate the amazing veterans that have served my country… to celebrate freedom and the wonderful place I live.

I sprung out of bed this morning and immediately put on my workout clothes. I made a healthy oatmeal breakfast and then set about my day. I walked/ran 3 miles to watch my cities Veteran’s Day Parade.

As I walked/ran along the path to the parade… I stopped to soak it all in.

I loved the loan American flag stuck in the fence along my path.

I made my way to the parade route and I knew I wanted to get closer to the giant flag.

I loved taking photos of supporters along the parade route…

So many uniforms and so much pride…

The kids and dogs were my favorite…

Everyone sat patiently along the route until the parade came through…

The huge flag was pretty impressive to see up close.

The first order of business – Geese in the road… Geese in the road… It was hysterical – they honked every time the fire engine’s sirens blared.

No worries, my little geese friends made their way to the lawn area next to where I was standing.

The local rotary club handed out mini flags to everyone…

This year’s Grand Marshall was Staff Sergeant Emmett Spraktes, a helicopter medic who received a silver star for gallantry in action in Afghanistan. His son was so excited to be in the car with his Dad.

After the parade,  the public was invited to partake in free hotdogs, soda and potato chips provided by the local Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis and other community organizations. I decided to skip that part to continue with my walk/run around the park’s lake.

It was a gorgeous day…

It felt good to be out and surrounded by my community with a side of nature.  According to iPhone calculations, I covered just under 8 miles. Once home, I got busy in the kitchen. I had one thing left to do for the day.

Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and a side of Budwesier (I actually bought the bud for a chili recipe – Ace was a big time collector of all things Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch, so for tonight’s dinner – we will be honoring his love and passion by partaking in big bowls of chili that include his favorite beer).  I plan on posting the recipe tomorrow.

So cheers – to Ace – who would have celebrated his 42nd birthday today… you are so missed and loved with each passing day.

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    • Deb on November 11, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    Happy birthday Ace! I never met you but I know one thing for sure. You must have been an amazing person to have been married to Foo. Your memory lives on. Foo – love you. I hope today had more happy memories than sad. Love you! D

  1. Such a sweet post! I really enjoyed reading it and I hope you really enjoyed your cake. I think in times like these the best thing to do is celebrate life and remember all the good times instead of getting sad in the bad. Love it!

    • jessica on November 11, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    Happy birthday to Ace (and my dear friend Kristen, whose birthday is today as well). Love your tribute to him, and love the V Day pics – especially the ones of the flag-bearers marching in line. XOXOXO, friend!

    • Hilly on November 11, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    Happy Birthday, Ace. Baby’s red balloon is gonna fly.

    On a separate note, my sister made me go to that parade once. Mark was with us. Good times. 😉

    • Adrian on November 11, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    This was a very nice remembrance, foo.

    And…those geese really get around!

    • Tina on November 11, 2010 at 6:51 pm

    Happy Birthday Ace! feel like I know you just through my friendship with Kath…You are definitely one special guy and are truly missed!
    hugs to you Kath, you are one classy lady! love you

    • Cheryl on November 11, 2010 at 7:13 pm

    Happy Birthday, Ace!!

    Take care, Kath, and hugs!

  2. What a fantastic tribute to your late husband and all veterans!

    • TUWABVB on November 11, 2010 at 7:57 pm

    I love you so much for this post – I love how far you’ve come, and I love that you reminded me exactly what this day is about. Happy Birthday Ace – I know that he would be SO proud of you and your day.

    Much love to you honey – I hope you had a wonderful day in spite of it all. You are a truly amazing woman and I love your tibute.

    • Paige on November 11, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    Beautiful tribute. Thank you for sharing. I like hearing the personal stories along with the food stuff.

    • Desirea on November 11, 2010 at 10:19 pm

    This is a truly wonderful salute life. I love the pictures of the parade, especially the geese stories. Silly birds.

    • Pod on November 11, 2010 at 11:22 pm

    Beautiful Job Kath….what a wonderful way to spend this special day. Ace was a very special guy and I know he’s looking down and smiling at you and all of us…of course he probably has a Bud raised high as well.

    • Amy on November 12, 2010 at 5:25 am

    Great post, Kath. Happy birthday to Ace…..I’m certain he was smiling down on you today. I loved the pictures you posted 🙂 Hugs to you.

    • Paul on November 12, 2010 at 11:17 am

    It’s incredibly sweet that you still remember Ace’s birthday with such passion. You are one strong chick and he loved—and we love—you for that.

    Happy Birthday Ace!

    • Anneke on November 12, 2010 at 2:34 pm

    What a lovely way to celebrate. Happy Birthday Ace!

    • Kristen on November 17, 2010 at 4:34 pm

    That parade is one of the last one’s left in the area. What a special day and a great tribute to the troops and to Ace!

  1. […] life, by honoring the amazing veterans that served my country by attending my first local Veterans Day parade. […]

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