Ah Veterans Day, another day off from work.   I love having a three day weekend, but as a Marine spouse, the day has a special meaning for me and so I would like to offer a few suggestions to make your Veterans Day even better than just another holiday.

1.  Attend a parade – Every year Beaufort has a Veterans Day Parade that starts in downtown Beaufort and ends at the Beaufort National Cemetery.  This year the parade starts at 9:30 a.m.  At 11:00 a.m. a Veterans Day Ceremony will being at the Cemetery.  Check the listings in your area for a Veterans Day parade.

2.  Donate to a Veterans charity – There are many organizations like the USO whose mission is to “lift the spirits of America’s troops and their families” or The Wounded Warrior Project whose mission is “to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.”

3. Volunteer your time to a service organization like the Veterans Hospital, AMVETS, DAV or the USO.

4. Find out if anyone in your family is a veteran and talk to him/her about their experiences or if they don’t want to talk about their time in service, just thank them for serving our Country in the Armed Forces.

5. When you are out and about this weekend, if you see a Veteran thank them for their service.

6. The USO site has a “Send a thank you to our troops” message form set up on their site.  Simply fill in your name, e-mail, add a brief thank you message and click to send.

 7. Go to the Wounded Warrior Project Thank You Cards Facebook page, select a card, fill out the form, add a brief message and click send.  The site says the cards “will be distributed to wounded warriors in hospitals and during Wounded Warrior Events”.  That’s all there is to it.

Just pick one or more of these 7 ideas and give some extra meaning to your Veterans Day Holiday.