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You are here: Home / Life / Remembrance Day Stories: My Grandfathers Who Served

Remembrance Day Stories: My Grandfathers Who Served

November 11, 2021 By Kari 2 Comments

On this Remembrance Day, I’m sharing stories of my two grandfathers who served, along with some great suggestions from parents on how to talk with little ones about Remembrance Day. I would love any family stories you have. Just pop them in the comment section below.

Let’s all take a moment at 11:00 a.m (and throughout the whole day today) to remember and stand in honour of the Canadian women and men who have served and continue to serve for our freedom.

remembrance day stories-1Remembrance Day Stories: My Grandfathers

My Grandpa Orville Kenneth Skelton (dad’s dad) went to war at the age of 30 and served three years as a Sergeant with the First Canadian Paratroopers. One of the most dangerous missions in war -dropping into combat not really knowing what was below.

That is pretty much all we know of Grandpa Skelton’s experience during that time as he almost never liked to discuss it. Too painful to relive.

remembrance day stories-2My Pa – Lawrence Derlago (mom’s dad) fought on the front lines for three years, starting at the age of 19. He was helping a family in Holland one day and they gave him some eggs to say ‘thanks’. When he was making his way back to the trench when enemy fire broke out. He was hit and thought he wasn’t going to make it because he could feel what he thought was blood running down his face. Thankfully, it wasn’t blood, but the eggs he had put under his helmet to carry home.

Pa spoke many languages: Ukrainian, Czech, Polish, and Russian. He also spoke Dutch and German, which we think he learned during the war.

I’m proud of both of my grandfathers and all the men and women who have fought for our freedom and sacrificed for our country. Thank you!

remembrance day stories-3How To Talk With Your Kids About Remembrance Day

We had another great chat yesterday on Instagram Stories about how to talk with little kids about Remembrance Day. Definitely check out these resources from Veterans Affairs Canada. It breaks it down into age groups, which is super helpful.

Here are some suggestions that came in from parents.

  • “Our kids and two and four so we stick to talking about the Poppy and are planning to do a Poppy craft.” ~Alie (Click here for a poppy craft you can do with your kids.)
  • “I try to steer clear of saying anything about fighting and war and stick to honouring people who help keep Canada safe.” ~Megan
  • “We don’t sugarcoat anything. Some of it they’ll understand and some they won’t, but we talk openly about the war and the sacrifices. Our kids are 7 and 10.” ~Amy
  • “We go to the legion every year in Fort Assiniboine. They do a great job of explaining it.” ~Jamie
  • “We watch some videos on YouTube and read the kids book A Poppy To Remember.”~Shalainem
  • “Books! I love a story that lays a foundation for a good discussion.”. ~Joclyn
  • “My kids are six and four. I share pictures of all their ancestors who served.” ~Kate
  • “Symbolism mainly. The poppy reminds us of soldiers who kept and continue to keep us safe.” ~Nicole

remembrance day stories-4

xx

 

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Filed Under: Life

Comments

  1. Jacqui says

    November 11, 2021 at 7:22 am

    My parents couldn’t participate in the war. Dad was the eldest and had to stay home to look after the farm; his father only had one leg. His three brothers did go to war. My Mom was a teacher so did her part by staying at home to teach. I’m very proud of them both.

    Reply
    • Kari says

      November 11, 2021 at 8:35 am

      Amazing! Those who had to stay home contributed in big ways too. <3

      Reply

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Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
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❤ @ryanjespersen
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Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

kariskelton

Lifestylist + Blogger: KariSkelton.com
Mom to Wyatt, Moses🐾 + Monroe🐾
Babe on the way! (06/22)
❤ @ryanjespersen
motherhood | style | recipes 👇

Kari Skelton | Motherhood
when you feel like you've hit your max bump but th when you feel like you've hit your max bump but there's still nine weeks to go. 😳

It's truly amazing what our bodies can do. 💛

#31weeks #sunsoutbumpsout #beachball
Life update. ❤ I’ll be keeping this piece of Life update. ❤

I’ll be keeping this piece of art forever. Wyatt painted this for me back in January, when I was isolated with Covid. I taped it up on the wall beside the bed during my stay in our guest room. If you zoom in, you’ll see me in the front with the big baby belly. (Wyatt calls me ‘big belly’ these days!)

Rainbows represent promise, hope, and new beginnings. 

It's been a rough past few weeks for our family, hence my absence online. Thank you so much for your messages of love, concern, and support. They mean so much to us. I know I share a lot with you on here, but I’m not going to get into details this time. Just know we're doing alright. Junebug is great (and kicking and rolling around non-stop!), Wyatt is awesome per usual, and Ryan and I are rock solid.

I had to take a break from work. My main focus has always been (and will
always be) protecting the peace, health, and well-being of our family unit. 

Social media can be a beautiful place where connection and inspiration happens. Unfortunately, it can also foster hurtful and harmful attacks. I’ve learned so much over these past few weeks, and have deeply reflected on my presence and future plans online. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I just wanted to check in, say a sincere thanks, and let you know we’re all good. ❤️
The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll The moment I found out. September 22, 2021. I’ll be honest - the first trimester wasn’t great. There were moments of joy (like this one) but it was filled with anxiety, scary moments, and a few hurdles. 

🤰I’m playing catchup on some pregnancy blog posts but I wanted to make sure this was up, especially for those who have been following our journey. 

👉 Head on over to KariSkelton.com for ‘Pregnancy Q&A: The First Trimester’ where I get into all of it. Link is in my bio.

❔️Please ask any questions. That’s the whole reason why I share about this. I believe sharing our experiences and personal stories helps all of us feel less alone and often validates what we’re going through. 

(If you can believe it, I took a video of the exact moment I found out but it disappeared from my files. Poof! Gone.💨 Of all the videos to lose…. 🙈 But very happy to have this photo).

#pregnancystories #motherhoodrising #motherhoodunites #Canadianblogger #Canadianmom
Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_q Contest Closed. Congrats to our winner @michelle_quay! Thanks to all of you for entering! ❤

➡️ Giveaway! To celebrate @fresonbros first birthday tomorrow (Saturday, March 5), we’re giving away a $250 Freson Bros. GC! 🥳

You’re invited to pop down to the party between 11-5 to celebrate with us! 🎉There’s birthday torte, a whole bunch of perks, specialty tastings, and additional in-store giveaways, including a beautiful Camp Chef XT Wood Pellet Grill! 🙆‍♀️

To enter our $250 GC Giveaway:

👉 Make sure you follow me @kariskelton and @fresonbros.

👉 Like this post.

👉 tag some friends who would love this!

✨️ Bonus entry: Head to KariSkelton.com and leave a comment on my ‘Freson Bros. Turns One’ blog post (make sure to add your IG handle in that comment so we know who you are). 

*This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only and is in no way endorsed or supported by Instagram. The winner must be able to pick up the $250 gift card prize at Freson Bros. Edmonton 5139 Mullen Rd. Contest closes Friday, March 4 at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on this post before 9 a.m MST Saturday, March 5. 

🚨*PLEASE watch out for impersonation accounts that unfortunately sometimes pop up during giveaways. I will only reach out to you via DM from my account (@kariskelton) to confirm your win and then we’ll coordinate details via email only.
Load More… Follow on Instagram

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