I’ve written a lot about my mother over the years and I’ve shared bits and pieces about her here and there. November is usually a tough month for me with Veteran’s Day and the anniversary of her passing all falling within just a few days of each other.

But I’m blessed. I miss her all the time, but the fact is that she left such a lasting legacy that I have so many things to remember her by. I mean, I get emails all. the. time. from people who have read her book or watched something about her or are doing a project on Vietnam and end up finding my blog along the way during their research – and they send me emails saying things like, “Your mom was a hero.” You have no idea how encouraging that is.

That photo above is a photo that was taken of her in California in the early 1970s shortly after she got back from her service in Vietnam. It’s one of my favorites of her – even though I never knew her as a blonde, she just looks so young and happy. In fact, she’s probably younger in this photo than I am right now. I’m not totally sure.

But anyway. Between her books and her impact on women veterans, her legacy is one that will continue to live on – even after I die one day.

I was going through some of her old writings last night and I came across one of my favorite poems of hers that was published in her book, “Visions of War, Dreams of Peace.”

I thought, being that it’s Veteran’s Day and all, that I’d share it with you guys:

Making Friends

Twenty years since my life was changed
Twenty years making a friend of death
Knowing it
Respecting It
Wishing for it at times
Fighting with it as friends sometimes do.

But the nightmares of war have faded as I’ve healed
My dreams are now of peace
Peace of mind
Peace of heart
Hoping for Peace on earth
It’s time I made a friend of Life.
-Lynda Van Devanter Buckley – 1990

Happy Veteran’s Day!