Happier times to remember for VFW Auxiliary Post 8053
Karen Shaffer
From the VFW Action Corps Weekly, an article, “Building Your Mental Health Through Resiliency,” Army Col. (Dr.) Wendi Waits notes, “There is significant evidence in the medical literature that the way we think influences the way we feel, which influences the way we behave or react.” One of her suggestions to help put a more positive perspective on events is the use of gratitude journals as a way of helping us think about what we have to be grateful for, to “…hunt the good stuff … to put a more positive spin on life.”
That led me to a mental stroll through the VFW 8053 Auxiliary history notebook. Our focus is helping veterans and veteran families, such as having an Easter egg hunt. We do and will continue to do good things. The theory of the “gratitude journal” is to think about things we are grateful for—and writing them down. An example, “I am grateful for our veterans.”
Days honoring the military this month: Aug. 1, Air Force Day; Aug. 4, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Birthday; Aug. 7, Purple Heart Day which is a time for Americans to pause and remember and honor the brave men and women who were either wounded on the battlefield or paid the ultimate sacrifice; Aug. 9, National Spirit of ’45 Day; Aug. 14, Navajo Code Talkers Day; Aug. 15, Victory over Japan Day (VF Day); Aug. 16, National Airborne Day; Aug. 29, Marine Corps Reserve Birthday.
For more information about how to join the Sun Lakes Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary, contact Stephanie Reynolds at [email protected] or 503-701-3194.