The The Wall That Heals was near our house this week. This is a replica of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in Washington D.C. (which during our four day crazy trip there last Spring we missed). The people and volunteers that run this are so nice and dedicated. It is open 24 hours a day.
I went late one night earlier in the week and only two other people were there. I took my girls yesterday and the emotions were flowing. It was very busy. Photos, dog tags, letters and flags now surrounded the wall.
I can't stand to see people sad...a woman was sitting in front of the wall crying, I just had to touch her shoulder(I touch strangers often). She held my hand for a moment and smiled. As we walked away Juliet asked me "why the wall makes her so sad?" I held her hand and tried to muddle through what the wall meant..brave soldiers..not all come home..a way to remember them..fighting for freedom..and so on. The beauty of being five years old is that this answer was enough and wasn't pondered any further. My ten year old however (who's fourth grade teacher served in Vietnam) wanted to know more about the war, how did it start? Why? Thankfully there are beautiful displays and plaques to read(because when it comes to history I'm not helpful).
