Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day Musings

Since my day to blog is Monday, I'm always the one who gets to post on the three-day-weekend holidays: Columbus Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President's Day, etc. And now we've rolled all the way around to Memorial Day.
Admittedly, I don't always post on topic when these Mondays roll around...but this week I feel the need to. Why? I'll be honest. Because for a minute, I forgot what Memorial Day actually memorializes. Ack!! Then it came back to me, but I looked it up just to be certain: Memorial Day honors those who have died in military service to the United States. A worthy celebration, to be sure, but I guess I'm running in the wrong circles, because I rarely hear this day talked about as anything other than a chance to sleep in, hold a barbecue, or slip away for a long weekend.

After a bit of angst and reflection on the subject, I've decided this is okay. After all, protecting our ability to snooze in safety, take vacations, and eat barbecue in the sunshine is a big part of the Armed Forces' raison d'etre. Is it not?

Soldiers, sailors, etc. are pretty much the definition of unsung heroes. Well, we sing them a little bit, but we don't really know what goes on within their ranks. I'm sure there are myriad reasons why they do what they do, but I'm also pretty sure it's not for the glory of it. In the end, they've sacrificed so that we can keep on living our lives in comfort and peace, as if nothing ever happened.

So, yeah, let's honor the Armed Forces today. In my five minutes of internet research, I learned that at 3:00 PM (local time) today there's a designated moment of silence to honor those who've died in service to this country. I'm down for that; what about you? But in the meantime, let's honor them by doing those things that we can only do because we're free. So.....barbecue? Yes! Vacation? Do it!

I, for one, am going back to bed!

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