Celebrating Memorial Day

How do you usually spend your Memorial Day weekend? Today, as I remembered fallen heroes and their families, I thought about the heroes who fought for my daily freedoms and my family's Memorial Day tradition. I am not exactly sure why I focused on our tradition. Maybe because last month, my aunt, who was the oldest member of our family, died at 91 years old. For whatever reason, I found myself reminiscing about watching my dad rise early on Memorial Day to meet my uncles and aunts for their annual Memorial Day tradition, cleaning and decorating the gravesites of our family members. They maintained the gravesites throughout the year, but Memorial Day was their day to do it together as a family. My dad would load his rake, gardening hoe, weed eater, flowers, and flags for our family veterans' graves in the car and take off for over half of the day.

I often begged to tag along out of curiosity, not because I was fond of cemeteries. I was interested to learn more about the last generation. One year, when I was about 8 or 9 years old, he let me joined. I was excited. I listened intently as my dad, uncles, and aunts cleaned and manicured the area around each gravesite. While they worked, they shared stories and memories with pride and warmth. It was such a fulfilling experience, especially considering there are not many pictures of the older generation. Seeing their resting place, year of birth and death, helped me make a connection.

While this experience was over 20 years ago, it is one I will not forget and hope to continue when my parents and uncle are ready to retire their tools. My family’s Memorial Day tradition is more than maintaining our family's resting places; it honors their legacy of love, values, and hard work.