Memorial Day

I have seen some comments and posts come across on Facebook and the webs about remembering what Memorial Day is all about. Reminders that this day ISN’T about the beach or barbecues, that it ISN’T about beers and hotdogs, that is ISN’T about getting an extra day off work, or having a three-day weekend to go camping. It’s  supposed to be about remembering those who died in the many wars our country has fought, honoring them and their sacrifice for our freedom. And I agree . . . kind of.

I hope that today everyone is enjoying themselves to their very fullest. I hope that those who love parties and barbecues are doing just that. I hope the beaches are packed with skimpily clothed people and that sandcastles are being built and beers are being popped open. I hope that people are camping and hiking or staying at home and working in their yards, putting in that new garden. I hope that people are at baseball games or maybe watching old war movies on TV, and  I hope that everyone is filled with laughter and joy and good food and are surrounded by love. Because THAT is what so many people died protecting and defending. THAT freedom to just go about your day enjoying all the moments no matter what those moments look like to each person. The white stones that line up in our cemeteries, the white crosses that cover fields in France and other European countries, the bones of those never found that lay in far away places, all belong to people, men and women, that died so that we can live such  free and open lives. I am sure that none of them wanted to die, but they made a choice, a decision to sign a contract, one that could take them far from home and possibly into the line of fire. Many gladly walked into those recruiting offices, especially after the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and again after the attacks of September 11, 2001. They knew they were going to face the enemy head to head. They knew there was a chance they may not be coming home. And they went just the same.

I like to think that all these men and women would want us to be living full, happy, joyful, productive, love-filled lives. They would want us to fully grasp and embrace the preciousness of this life we are so fortunate to live in our country. They would want us to go to the beach and the mountains or into our own backyards or the local parks and have fun! They would want us to laugh and run and play and relax and be able to do all those things without fear. I doubt that anyone on this holiday weekend worried about being attacked by bombs or a marauding army. I am pretty sure that most people didn’t get up and peek through their shuttered window to see if it was safe to go outside. Instead, we rose out of bed and maybe went out for a nice breakfast or loaded up the car to go to the park for a picnic and lawn darts or maybe got in a boat to go fishing or water skiing. And I am pretty sure that doing all these things is EXACTLY what those soldiers who lay in both marked and unmarked graves would want us to do.

I do hope that at some point today you stop for a moment and think about some of those people that never came home or if they did come home they came home in a box. I hope you will send a quick thank you out into the heavens and the universe and then I hope you go back to your barbecue or your beach party. I hope you will fill this day with amazing memories and that you create unforgettable moments that honor those who died. Because if we truly want to honor them we will do that by living grand lives, and we will bask in our freedoms, we will do good and kind things for each other, and we will love deeply. We will make sure that if there is some way for all of them to see all of us on this day, they will see us laughing, eating, living and loving every inch of our lives. And they will know that what they gave will have not been in vain.