Memorial Day Weekend

Remember, appreciate, and move onward. Apparently on Memorial Day the American Flag gets raised all the way up initially, then gets lowered to half-staff until noon, then is raised all the way up again for the rest of the day, until it comes down for the night, and then the next day all the way up for the new day, assuming no new reason for it to be half-staff. Up, down, up, down, up. That’s how it is. I’m generally pro-ritual. I think about how people since the beginning of time have done stuff for no reason other than to mark certain occasions as important or sacred, honor the gods, births, deaths, seasons, or just to feel better, and I can relate. There’s something about physically doing something, even something small like putting a rock on a headstone, saying a blessing, burning some sage, that makes whatever I’m thinking about more meaningful.

So maybe this weekend I’ll come up with a little something for the fallen soldiers. Mourning for and appreciating them is pretty simple and doesn’t need to get tied up with my views on war, or the defense industry, or race and class, or political borders, or any of that kind of thing. For me it’ll just be a kind of, “Thank you, you are missed, I wish you well where you are,” kind of thing.

I won’t be attending any loud parades or barbecues. We’ll be hosting a couple of families here for pizza and wrapping it up by 7:30 at the latest. One morning we might also try to get first tracks at the beach – get there early enough so the sand is all smooth from the night’s winds and tides – be the first people to mess it all up. Enjoy the sounds of the waves, the greyish early morning light, the fascinating quiet before the throngs arrive.

I’ll take a moment, while enjoying what I enjoy, and think of all the people, the soldiers, and others, whose sacrifices have contributed to my abundant situation. And maybe I’ll throw a rock in the ocean for them, or make a heart in the sand with a stick. Thank you, my ancestors. It was not a waste. I appreciate you and I’m making the most of my days. Then I’ll go make a sandcastle and perhaps eat a veggie burger. This life is so precious. I'm gonna enjoy it.