Dear soldier,
I keep telling my kids to make sure they say thank you to the soldier that is going to get their letter, but to you I want to start by apologizing. I know you were looking forward to getting a message from one of the five or six year old children in my class, and I wish I had a better explanation than I just don’t have enough kids in my class. We are from a small town in North Carolina, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Wilson, NC? Don’t worry if you haven’t, we are a tiny little dot on the map that most people have never seen let alone been to. I guess I’ve traveled off on a tangent here, my point was that we fell short by one letter and I am writing this letter hoping that you won’t mind getting a letter from the teacher rather than a student. Thank you. Thank you for serving, thank you for choosing to put on that uniform and to stand up for the people that can’t stand up for themselves. To me, and to most, it doesn’t matter what job you perform, the fact that you chose to join in the first place is braver than most people ever have the courage to be. I know the opinion of a kindergarten teacher isn’t very high up on anyone’s list of importance but I sleep better at night knowing that there are people like you out there. I hope, when you lay your head down tonight, that you’ve smiled a little more today than you did yesterday, but not as much as you will tomorrow. I want you to know that, even though we don’t know each other, I’ll be praying that you get home safely, to whatever you may have waiting whether that’s a family, or a wide open future that you get to paint any way you want. Not all heroes wear capes, you and your men are living proof of that, and before I lay my head down to sleep tonight, you’ll be in my prayers. Since you were unfortunate in letter reception and got stuck with me, I hope you don’t mind that I took to liberty to add a stack of envelops and blank paper with the letters, if any of the soldiers would like to send a letter to someone you can have them shipped to this return address and I’ll make sure they get in the mail. Thank you again, for everything you do, especially the things that no one will ever get to see.
With my heart felt appreciation and respect, Madison Carmichael