Dear Readers, this has been a bad year for many folks, including me, but I am not going to gripe about the constant fibromyalgia and spinal column pain that keep me from writing and enjoying life. I have gotten behind on my blogs. I missed talking about many events, including Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. This does not mean that I have forgotten the saints or people who were part of my life.

Veterans Day is coming up. On this day we should honor our departed relatives, friends, and all the men and women who fought for our country to make it what it is today. In my family, there are 2 Army veterans: Victor, my older brother and Bob, my husband, and a marine, my brother-in-law. They deserve our respect and thanks.

 Now, I will switch gears to another time and place. Although, I am sick with fibromyalgia and spinal column problems, I am fortunate to be alive. Years ago, when I was probably a 7-year-old kid, I was at Boca Chica beach, about 30 miles from Brownsville, Texas, celebrating an outing at the beach with my family. At that age, I was not bothered by the heat at all. Now, if I’d just walk along the beach, I would sweat profusely.

My parents, especially my mother, enjoyed weekend outings at Padre Island or Boca Chica. Rocky, an Airedale-German Shepherd mix, did not like the water and spent the day digging under our car so that by the time we were ready to leave, we were stuck in the sand and had to figure out a way to dig the car out. Lobito, a terrier mix, loved the water and would swim to my brothers, Victor and Hector, where the water was already up to their chests. In the meantime, my sister, mom, dad and I spent our time in the shade provided by the car or on the edge of the ocean where the waves would come in and out and sweep us towards deeper waters. We had an innertube from a car tire that I used to float on the water which could have been 2 feet deep.

Suddenly, I found myself laying on the sand close to the ocean. My older brother was kneeling beside me. I opened my eyes and caught a glimpse of the innertube. It had floated a long distance from us and disappeared. We lost the innertube but I was alive. My brother probably was responsible for saving my life, but I was a kid. I don’t recall thanking my brother for saving my life. I didn’t even realize that I had almost drowned. What I remember is being in a peaceful, painless darkness. I don’t know if he had to resuscitate me. All I remember is seeing the innertube disappear, then later getting up to get closer to the lashing waves, and seeing my brothers swimming in the deeper waters with Lobito.

In today’s blog, I didn’t choose a flag to celebrate Veterans Day. I chose a lovely thistle flower to thank veterans for their participation in all our wars and to thank my brother for saving my life. He never mentioned it, and he also didn’t mention going to Vietnam, but I strongly suspect that he did. With tears in my eyes, I thank you, Victor and Jesus Christ, for saving my life and others’ lives. God bless our country’s veterans.