There’s no peace and quiet like a summer evening.
Source: anokiestateofmind
Such a kind act from four wonderful young men! Orange Beach is a beautiful place with even better people.
Source: sweetsouthvibes
Source: southernliving.com
Source: anokiestateofmind
At my core I’ve always been patriotic. A love of home, of family, and of country have always been intertwined for me, and I remember details. I remember the conversation I had with my mom the morning of, not knowing that anything would ever be out of the ordinary that day. It was over breakfast, and for some strange and inexplicable reason, we talked about our country. We spoke of how fortunate we were to live in such a great nation, how free and prosperous even the most average man or woman could be.
I went to school and heard the rumblings. I remember the specific seat in the old elementary school that’s since become nearly unrecognizable. I remember seeing the flag in the corner. I remember the rumblings becoming murmurs of fear--we were simultaneously an agriculture and military town, with a base nearby where so many of my friends’ parents served. After a while the TV was turned on, and for the first time, I saw.
Buildings burned. Bodies fell. We saw the firefighters and police flying towards the chaos and disappearing into that dark and fiery void. Two planes had struck the towers. In Pennsylvania, regular men and women tried to regain control the terrorists had taken.
The aftermath was a whirlwind of pain and a type of unity that used to exemplify the American spirit even in the face of evil. It was one of sorrow and loss as our friends and families were deployed. Over the years that followed not all of them came home safe and sound. The scars that didn’t show were the hardest to comprehend at that age. But the valor, the overwhelming love, and the tenacity of a sleeping America roared to life again. Doing nothing was never an option, and there was no good option.
Yet as this anniversary of devastation rolls around again this year, there’s a different kind of solemnity that comes with an America I struggle to recognize. I see remnants of my home and the people who keep it alive and turning still going strong. But it’s more subdued somehow, and where in the past I’ve felt a love and unity erupting from the nation I’m reminded too strongly of the division and damage that’s been done from within. People talk differently than they used to. They act differently, and think and feel in foreign ways.
And none of them are good.
Even still, the everyday men and women of America will continue moving forward, holding to their values and the prospect of a better life where their children can have as much if not better than they do. Yet even in my lifetime, I’ve watched those freedoms and opportunities be stifled, and not from any external threat.
I hope I never see the day where that strong and proud America is brought to her knees without rising again and bringing hell with her. I hope I never see the day where she turns against her own people because of a select few.
E pluribus unum. We Americans are many, but we are one.
Here we stand, and here we will remain.
Source: anokiestateofmind
Sounds from my favorite time of evening and my favorite time of year.
Source: anokiestateofmind
(c) Heather Stillufsen Rose Hill Design Studio
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Source: sweetsouthvibes