A weekend of remembrance.

A holiday weekend - for most of us, it will mean enjoying that extra cup of coffee at home in our pjs on Monday when we would normally be commuting. Or, being able to sleep just a little bit later than 5:30 am. If most of us are honest, we have been thinking about this long weekend all week long.

It's ok - we're supposed to think that way. Long weekends are meant to be enjoyed -right? And yet, we enjoy this extra day off not because WE have earned it, but rather others have earned it for us through their sacrifice.

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer - the first picnic of the year, the first camping weekend, or putting the boat or canoe in the water for the first time...all of these things happen on Memorial Day weekend. I can remember our family picnics with my parents and sisters - we'd meet at a park with my grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. Oh the potato salad and macaroni salad; the hot dogs and burgers...and the desserts....yum.

And it was a time for buying geraniums and visiting the cemetaries where my great grandparents and other loved ones were laid to rest.

The most memorable part of that visit was the drive past the Field of Honor, where row upon row of American flags waved proudly marking the final resting place of those who had served our country. When I was little, I knew that the flags commemorated the military - but it became more meaningful as I got older. I thought about who they might have been - were they sons or daughters; moms or dads; husbands and wives? Were they in your circle of friends? The boy or girl next door? They likely enjoyed a Memorial Day picnic with THEIR families, and perhaps saw flags waving row upon row - and were inspired to serve.

Whoever they were, I pray they know that the freedom they fought and died for is still alive. Throughout wars of the past...and the present, they have been asked to sacrifice a great deal - too often, ALL they had to give. And they will never be forgotten.

May God be ever near as we take this weekend to remember those who fell serving our nation. May we be forever grateful to them - and to those who serve today.