Day 260: The Pledge

Every morning at school, we start third period with the Pledge of Allegiance. Today a kid was goofing around during it. We say the U.S. pledge and then the Texas Pledge and then have a moment of silence.

All year I have instructed my class that the moment of silence is sacred to me. I take those precious minutes to send up a focused prayer for the soldiers in my life, my army friends who are now far away, my daughter, my health, sanity, family, etc. It took a few times of having to rebuke a few children about talking during my prayer time, but for the most part they get it when I explain why it matters to me.

I didn't think in this military town, I would ever have to issue the same explanation for the pledge. It really is just words to a piece of cloth, we all understand that without the meaning we attach to it, it is just a ritual. But we attach meaning to it. I have always been very proud of my country, despite some poor decisions, choices, etc. but that feeling has grown over the years I have known various military personnel. Meeting and loving an active duty soldier has only made the flag, pledge, national anthem mean even more.

To me that flag now represents the blood that soldiers shed daily, the white the purity of most of their intentions to do good for the people here and there, the blue the nobility of the sacrifice they make every day they are away from their family or risking their safety to secure our way of life.

Maybe most of the kids mumble the words, repeating them verbatim from elementary school memorization, barely giving them a thought, but I hope that my reverence for this solemn moment daily teaches them the two things they need, respect for our nation and those who protect us and respect for God and His grace. I may not always be able to teach them English, but I can teach values through example.

So the intercom buzzes on, and I am invariably swarmed with kids, papers, half-finished tasks. I drop everything and say the pledge. It is the least I can do to honor my husband's sacrifice.