Remembrance - #100DayProject - Day 058

Some of the flowers we placed on family graves.

Here in the U.S., we have an important holiday coming up that many seem a bit confused by its purpose. On Monday, we will celebrate Memorial Day, a day we should be remembering those lost in the service of our military, often protecting our freedoms. While many spend the day grilling and playing (things we often do in my family), the real reason is not always remembered. In order to help our children learn more about the true meaning of Memorial Day, we took a little road trip to visit some of my wife's family members' graves. We put out some flowers on their graves and told stories about them all while remembering the important things they did in their lives. While not all of them were military veterans, some were, we were still able to remember them and live through some memories. We didn't visit any of my family's graves, but I'm sure we'll make a stop here in town to see some of them on Monday. 

Veterans Park was a great history lesson on sacrifice.

Another  place we stopped was called Rotary Centennial Veterans Park, a wonderful memorial honoring those from the community who served in each of the majors wars the U.S. has survived. This was a little piece of heaven I had no idea existed, and yet, felt very familiar due to the construction of the monuments being similar to something you might see in the Washington, D.C. National Mall. I really enjoyed walking with my son, my oldest daughter was feeling sick so she stayed in the car, along the monuments explaining the different things in simple terms his three year old mind could understand. It was very refreshing to see that even he could understand some of the importance of this place. 

Since school ended for me on Wednesday, I didn't have a class to really go over the purpose of Memorial Day, but if I had I would have liked to show them this short video I found courtesy of a tweet shared by Pernille Ripp. Please take the two minutes to watch this powerful reminder of the true meaning of Memorial Day.

I'm not trying to say you can't enjoy your Memorial Day away from work or school by swimming, boating, grilling, or whatever else you might do, but I hope that you take even a couple minutes with your children and family to share the real reason we have this day to celebrate however we choose. Thanks to the brave men and women who protect us daily and those who have in the past. To you I owe an incredible debt because I get to be silly with my family and enjoy them in the simplest ways. 

Thank You!