Remembrance Day at Southgate Mall

I’m not a soldier.

I've not trained for combat, and I can count on one hand the times that I've held a firearm. I’d be a liability on the battlefield. There are numerous reasons that no one should send me into the field of battle. I don’t think I could gain a strategic inch for the benefit of any military campaign.

The life of a soldier is worlds apart from where I am today.

And where am I?

I’m at Southgate Mall in Edmonton on a statutory day off.

Is it disrespectful to be out shopping on Remembrance Day?

I am wearing a poppy, and I will pause for a quiet moment of silence and reflection at the appropriate time. Should I be doing more?

I have no way of knowing how a soldier from days past would feel about the mall being open today.

But I look around, and I see people going about their lives in peace.

Older men are having a good chat at their spot near Starbucks. Parents getting shopping done with small children in tow, and new Canadians arriving for work in retail and fast food establishments. Shopping malls can have their own frenetic energy, but there is an abiding sense of peace in this place. A calm that is not experienced worldwide. Our peace is a result of courage and service.

We’re doing well. The scene before me in the food court is proof enough. Our peace in Canada is beautiful and unique, but we should never take it for granted.

Perhaps the best way to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice is to live well and in peace. Those who put on a uniform did so so that we could all enjoy a Tuesday morning at Southgate Mall. If they could see us now, I hope they would smile knowing they succeeded in their mission. They did not fail.

Let’s not fail them by being negligent in our responsibility to protect the peace of our country.

To all those who serve and continue to do so, I thank you.

We live well in Canada because of your service.