Darlings,

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

Pride, gratitude and heroism. It's something we see in the news. It's something we see everyday. Today, we celebrate it as our collective intention, celebrating lives lost, victories gained and down to the simplest form, showing up.

To those who have shown up, stepped up, fallen down, picked up, won, lost, taken and given, succeeded and failed, we use this class, this blog, this time as an anthem of allegiance. Heroes reveal themselves but are often hidden in the smile at the check out counter, the person that let's you go in their lane, the person that picks up your mail when it falls to the ground.

Be a hero every day by choosing to be good, choosing outside of yourself for a moment in offering.

For the fallen heroes and the everyday heroes too, we celebrate you and us as we cross paths making each other stronger and in turn, ourselves...with our right action and right words.

We have a choice.

In pride, gratitude and heroism, we salute.

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes – Maya Angelou

Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude which separates excellence from mediocrity. – William Blake

Show class, have pride and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself. – Paul Bryant

Generosity is giving more than you can and pride is taking less than you need. –Kahlil Gibran

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem and personal satisfaction. –Margaret Thatcher

With the pride of the artist, you must blow against the walls of every power that exists the small trumpet of your defiance. Norman Mailer

A hero is one who knows how to hang on one minute longer – Novalis

The hero is the man who lets no obstacles prevent him from pursuing the values he has chosen. –Andrew Bernstein

Self trust is the essence of heroism. Ralph Waldo Emerson

The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its herors, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker – Helen Keller

The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high heroic temper. Aristotle

Nurture your mind with great thoughts. to believe in the heroic makes heroes. Benjamin Disraeli

Take what you want, steal my pride, build me up or cut me down to size, shut me out, but I'll just scream, I'm only one voice in a million, but you ain't taken that from me. -Natasha Bedingfield

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. John F. Kennedy