My Mother Told Me I Could Not Wear My Uniform At The Memorial Until A Veteran Stood Up

in uniform on the porch of our house.

Beside it was a second frame. Me standing at the Veterans Wall, my hand against his name, my uniform sharp, my face turned slightly toward the sky. On the back, in my mother’s handwriting: He would have been so proud.

I sat on my kitchen floor and cried. Then I placed both photographs on the mantel. Side by side.continue reading …