Telling Your Story
Light the grill, strike up the band, watch the local parade and plant the garden. It is Memorial Day weekend, and the official start to summer.
I'd wager that many people don't know that the day is established to honor those who died in service to our country. I suspect the number of people who think the day is just another long weekend with some patriotic stuff thrown in for good measure is staggering.
Everyone loves a parade, and the red, white and blue decked floats and bicycles and tractors and quads in the parade make for a festive event. Laughter, waving at your friends in the parade or lining the parade route, mingling with the neighborhood is fun and exciting. I happen to love it!
But the real Memorial Day can be a lot harder for some folks. Honoring and remembering those who have died in our country's service brings heartache to so many families, a reminder of how things once were, what never was nor will ever be.
Memorial Day. It's parades and picnics, sacrifice and solemness all rolled into one.
As more years roll behind me than before me, I hear the list of names in the roll call at the cemetery. Names that are unfamiliar, names going back as far as the Civil War. Names that once had a real face, a family, a place in their community. I wonder about them, their lives, their stories, what everyday life was like during the years around their service time. Some of those times, I can even recall like when the Vietnam veterans were returning, and especially watching released POW's walk off airplanes. Many kissed the ground where they stood. There were tears, family running to meet them, and a few seemed unsure of where they even were.
Some walked, some were on crutches, others were supported by a fellow soldier. Some were carried on stretchers. Everyone under the age of 60 ought to watch those news reels. Country, service, sacrifice, duty and the meaning of Memorial Day might have new significance.
We need to continue to honor those who died for liberty, and the best way to do so is to live a life worth dying for. Serve and sacrifice in meaningful ways. Do your part, whatever that part may be. Remember the sacrifice made by someone. My sacrifice is little compared to giving of a life.
From the nation's earliest beginnings, people died that liberty could be reality. Please join me in honoring them. Let's make sure to keep their sacrifice sacred by keeping liberty alive.
Bev Berens is a mom to 4-H and FFA members in Michigan. Do you have a story to share? Email her at uphill-farm494@yahoo.com.