Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

Most of us don't need this reminder...but I suppose some do.

You've seen the posts, all morning long! They're all over Facebook today. "Going camping"..."Yay, long weekend"..."5pm = time for my first Budweiser of many"..."FINALLY, summer is starting".

It's Memorial Day weekend in America. Not a single day. An entire weekend dedicated to shedding the gloom of winter and black shoes. It’s spending time with friends and family and doing the things we love to do. But what we should be doing is remembering the people who also loved to do them. The people who gave their lives to protect this exact way of life! You can't convince me that a soldier is out in the trenches thinking about the Constitution or the President. The American Ideal...the reason some men SENT them to war. No way, my friends! He or she is thinking about the American way of life...their lives and the moments that made up the whole...the reason they willingly WENT.

That soldier is thinking about backyard cookouts and the faces of loved ones across the picnic table. Their first beer and that crazy night with friends around the fire pit down at the beach or the lake. The taste of Auntie so-in-so's potato salad or the horrible Jell-O mold that shows up every year but nobody EVER eats. That soldier is thinking about their mother's face when she kissed a boo-boo and their dad's face when he caught them sneaking back in from a stolen kiss from their first love. Fireflies and thunderstorms. Music from a tiny sounding radio. That soldier is thinking about life. THIS life. His or hers. Yours and mine.

I repeat, I do not need the reminder. Not me. I'm the granddaughter, daughter, cousin, niece, friend and neighbor who have lost people to war. Some long ago and some just yesterday.

All gave some, but this Memorial Day please remember the some that gave it ALL. Thank a soldier, love a soldier, support our soldiers and pray for them <3

The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it-The American flag flies from the last breath of each, military member who has died protecting it

Our Soldiers are doing their JOB, if you can't stand behind them and support them; feel free to stand in front of them!!

Cheers, my friends...enjoy! Happy Memorial Day!

"We cherish too, the Poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies." ~Moina Michael~