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And we will remember them all...


Tomorrow we will stand again, alongside the bereaved families, with the children who have grown a little... and understand a little more.


This post was uploaded in 2011


And still... so relevant and moving.


"And we will remember them all..."


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Eve of Memorial Day, May 2011


Last Sunday, on the eve of Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers, I traveled with my eldest son, Noam (6.5), to attend the ceremony in Lehavim because my niece performed as a soloist with a group of three violinists and a keyboardist.


The ceremony was moving, sad, and very dignified, but what left the greatest impression on me was my child.


This child, who is just beginning to grasp (if at all) that there are fallen soldiers and that people die, whether in wars or in other ways, this child who plays Beyblade battles with his friends, sat at the ceremony focused and very serious, listening intently to every word spoken and every memory story about the fallen from Lehavim. He said to me: "Mom, look, the flag is at half-mast," and then added: "Mom, they said to bow your head. So bow your head..." and bowed his own head with full seriousness. After a minute, he said: "Mom, that's it..."


And this child, who just before the ceremony began, said: "Mom, they will sing Hatikvah, right? At every ceremony, they sing Hatikvah, so they must, right?"


And this child stood at the end of the ceremony, upright and proud, singing all the words of Hatikvah, filling my heart with pride!!


This child, who at the end of the ceremony, as we were leaving, said to me: "Mom, the bereaved families must miss their children so much..." and in the same breath added: "Mom, tomorrow I will tell the whole class that I saw a real wreath..."


The innocence and wisdom intertwined in one 6.5-year-old child, a first-grader, who left with impressions, felt so grown-up, and behaved maturely throughout the ceremony (even though we were freezing cold...).


He is my child!!!


This child, who since Memorial Day was mentioned at school, hasn’t stopped asking questions about what it will be like when he is in the army, asking his father about his military service, how it was to parachute from a plane, which unit he served in, and more questions I never thought of and certainly didn’t want my child to ask at the age of 6.5.


And you can’t not answer... he is thirsty for information.


And as if to annoy, or move, or remind me, on the way back home, the song "Winter 73" played.


*********************************************


We are the children of the winter of seventy-three

You dreamed of us for the first time at dawn, at the end of the battles

You were tired men who thanked their good fortune

You were young, worried women who wanted so much to love


And when you conceived us with love in the winter of seventy-three

You wanted to fill with your bodies what the war had taken away.

When we were born, the land was wounded and sad

You looked at us, hugged us, tried to find comfort


When we were born, the elders blessed with tearful eyes

They said, "These children, may they never go to the army."

And your faces in the old photograph prove you spoke from the heart

When you promised to do everything for us to turn an enemy into a friend.


You promised a dove

An olive branch

You promised peace at home

You promised spring and blossoms

You promised to keep promises


You promised a dove


We are the children of the winter of seventy-three

We grew up, we are now in the army with weapons, helmets on our heads

We also know how to love, laugh, and cry

We are also men, we are also women, we also dream of babies


And so we will not pressure, and so we will not demand, and so we will not threaten

When we were little, you said: promises must be kept

If you need strength, we will give, we will not withhold, we just wanted to whisper

We are the children of that winter, the winter of seventy-three


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And my heart aches at the thought that I have three sons who will most likely go to the army. And I will endure sleepless nights.


And in our small country, we have no choice.


And we, as parents, can want to protect our children and pluck the moon for them.


But when they go to the army... who protects them? And us?


Who will bring them back from war? And who will bring them back from captivity?


And then comes the thin line that transitions us from a day of mourning to a day of joy, dancing, fireworks, and Eyal Golan's "Whoever Believes, Is Not Afraid..."


And I find myself explaining to him that "In their death, they commanded us to live," and thanks to soldiers like them, we were given our independence, and we can celebrate having a place in the Land of Israel, and we have no other land...


Happy Independence Day


Ilana Cahana


Responsible Parenting - Ilana Cahana - Parenting Counseling and Guidance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haSFFii7vj8




 


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