Reflections on Memorial Day- What I am Reading

 

As you may know, I have lived my entire life in a military town. I live near the world's largest naval base. With fifteen military installations in the region, there are more than 82,000 local active duty military personnel in my area and each year more than 14,000 former military members transition into the civilian workforce from this area. (Source) Neighbors, friends and colleagues are military or retired. Many of my students have served or are currently in the military.  Each of these men and women are heroes and they inspire me daily. 

We have a tendency to wait until Memorial Day or Veteran's Day to acknowledge their service and their sacrifice and then go on our merry way for the rest of the year not even thinking of those who are providing the freedom for us to do so. That is only natural and that is what they are fighting to protect. But I encourage you to thank a service member or veteran, volunteer at an organization to assist them, patronize a Veteran owned business or donate to help provide them with services that they need or that will make their life better.  Do not wait until that holiday or a tragedy to appreciate their service. 

Last week a friend gifted me a book about a young man who volunteered to fight in World War II.  I began reading the book as the nation celebrated Memorial Day with vacations and sales. (Again, I am not disparaging that!) He was local, lived not too far from where I live now and I know a member of his family. He returned home after the war to have an amazing life. The book really put a different, dare I say personal, perspective on history for me.  I have not yet finished the book- I want to give it the time and attention it deserves, but it has put another layer of respect that I have towards the "Greatest Generation" (the title of another great book by the way!). 

These young men, much younger than my own children are now, volunteered to protect our country right after Pearl Harbor.  As I read through the book and learn about the amazing things that they were able to do and the horrible things that they saw and lived through, I have a new appreciation for these heroes and others who have sacrificed so much, but never bragged about their accomplishments or whined about their troubles. 

And why did we not learn more about this in our high school history classes?  Perhaps if we had.... 

But I do not want to be political or compose a lecture- that is not the purpose of this blog!  I just want to express my appreciation for those who serve and who have served and on Memorial Day, especially those who gave all for our country. 

And you know there needs to be a craft involved! 

I made the sign at the top of the blog this year as a gentle reminder of why we were off of work and cooking out that day.  (You can see previous decorations here and here).  It will be part of a tablescape later this summer, along with the lighthouse below.  Stay tuned!

The sign was cut out of basswood on my Cricut; it is just a rounded corner square from the shapes link, painted white. The phrase is straight out of Design Space and cut from vinyl.  I added the border and the stars.  

As you can see, our pool is open and looking very cool on these HOT first days of "summer".  

And yes, I am late with this post (and is that really a surprise!?). I struggled with the right way to express my thoughts (and I am still not quite sure that I have it right!).  As I grow older and move into a different phase of my life I am focusing more on appreciation (you may have noticed a little of that from my last post.  

So, if you are in the military or have served or if you are a family member of current or past member of the armed forces (yes, I know that you serve too!), I thank you for all you have done for me, this country and our freedom!  

I hope that everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend and are ready for a big summer of celebration and fun! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Cynthia