May 28 - The Day We Remembered

Every year my family and I perform the music for a local Memorial Day service. And every year, some part of me knows I'm simply going through the motions with little reverence. Every year except this year.

In August of 2011, my extended family suffered a blow that will forever change how we see Memorial Day, American flags, or the 6:00 news report on the country's war casualties, when my cousin Jesse lost his life fighting in Afghanistan. Now, I don't want to stake a claim to emotions that aren't mine for the sake of a "good story" - to do so would be a mockery of those whose hearts are hurting the most. Jesse wasn't involved in my daily life, we spoke infrequently and were not what you would consider to be "close". But small pebbles make big ripples in the pond, which you notice even from the distant shore. My family hurt, so I hurt. There was still a sting from having to personally know a reality which you had always sanctioned to some other unknown family in the newspaper. And there was the incredible feeling of unfairness about it all. So young, so much still to offer, never coming home to raise the beautiful boy he left behind. So we wept, for our loss of Jesse, for the weight of unfairness that only God could make sense of, for the futures that would remain unwritten or forever changed, our tears a passage into a club no one ever hopes to join - family of the fallen. Those kinds of tears can change you, and so they did with me.

I'm not a perfect citizen, or even the most patriotic American - but watching that blue-eyed little boy hold a picture of his daddy, showing a symbolism he isn't even old enough to understand - I get it. And I know it doesn't make for an honorable story to say that I didn't really understand Memorial Day until it affected me, but it's the unpretty truth. And it's not far off from most of our lives, is it? Oh that we may learn to appreciate the beauty of the pond long before those ripples touch our toes on the shore.

We went on to spend the day with friends, grilling out, and cooking a delicious dinner. The joys of the day don't necessarily represent irreverence - it was with a thankful heart I enjoyed the freedoms I didn't pay for, both physical and spiritual. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Highlights:
1) We enjoyed a pool, or rather, the boys enjoyed trying to torture the girls in the pool. Is it written in our DNA that this starts at age 12 and continues...forever?

2) This may sound cocky, but sometimes I think it is good to be our friends. We whipped up a yummy from-scratch dinner of sauteed green beans, roasted cauliflower,  spinach, linguine & homemade marinara - yum! Oh, and there was pizza. That is due to it being good to be someone else's friend. ;)

3) Made a white sangria (thanks Pinterest) that turned out pretty good! White wine, Fresca, cherries, strawberries and farmer's market peaches. Mostly fruity, not so wine-y, just the way I like it.

Love & Remembrances,

K