Remembrance Day: Thank You for Your Service

Today, we pause.

We pause to remember the courage and selflessness of those who served. We pause to honour the freedoms their sacrifices have protected. And we pause to acknowledge that the lives we lead today—the choices, the opportunities, the quiet moments and bold adventures—are built on the shoulders of those who gave up their own.

Lest we forget - a pair of poppies

I believe that with all my heart.

I don’t believe I would have had the life I’ve lived without their sacrifice. As a woman, I was able to go to university and study Physics with Optoelectronics. I’ve owned my own home, raised a child as a single mother, and travelled the world. These freedoms, these experiences, these milestones, are not just personal victories. They are the legacy of those who served.

Last week, I recorded Episode 8 of Season 3 of my podcast The Story Behind Aloha Goodbye. The episode is entitled Thank You for Your Service and it’s one of the most emotional I’ve ever shared. It reflects on Pearl Harbor and the memorials I’ve visited around the world, places I seek out not for spectacle, but for silence. For respect. For remembrance.

Because behind every freedom is a story. Behind every story is a sacrifice.

Today, I wear my poppy not just as a symbol, but as a promise—to remember, to honour and to live in a way that acknowledges the cost of freedom.

To all who served, and all who gave: Thank You.

With Gratitude,

Love Helen x