I found this today and thought I would share, it made my wife cry ...

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight,
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps Canadian, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light,
Then he signed and he said "t's really all right
I'm out here by choice, I"m here every night.
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me
I"m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps dies at Dieppe on a day in December."
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram will always remember.
My Dad stood his watch in that Korean Land,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
Something red and white.. a Canadian flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a trench with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers,
Who stand at the front against any and all
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.
So go back inside," he said. "Harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be alright."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least?
Give you money?" I asked, "Or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eyes welled a tear that held no regret.
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone.
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead.
To know you remember we fought and we bled,
Is payment enough and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you matter to us.

Author Unknown

   

That's beautiful.
I also received this one:

A Special Thought for the Christmas Season!


T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE,
MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.



I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY,
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO,
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.



I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.



NO STOCKING BY THE MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES,
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.



WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT,
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.



FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.



THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR,
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.



THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED,
A CANADIAN SOLDIER.



WAS THIS THE HERO,
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?,
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?



I REALIZED THE FAMILIES,
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE
SOLDIERS, WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.


SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE,
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.



THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM,
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.



I COULDN'T HELP WONDER,
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE,
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.



THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT,
A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES,
AND STARTED TO CRY.



THE SOLDIER AWAKENED,
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA, DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE.



I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."



THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.



I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL,
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED,
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.



I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE,
ON THAT COLD, DARK NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOUR,
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.



THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE, SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."



ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT,
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."



God bless them all.