life lessons - remembering, honoring, respecting...

Today I decided to take the boys to the local Memorial Day ceremony in town. I really enjoy going to this and it always gets me choked up to see all of the flags flying at the grave sites of all the people who served our country. The laying of the wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier, taps and the 21 gun salute give me the chills. It is so humbling for me to think about all of those young men and women who generously go into battle to keep total strangers safe.

So, being that the weather was nice I decided that this would be a good learning opportunity for the boys. We stood in the crowd and listened to the speeches honoring all the veterans who keep up safe. At one point during a song played by the band (I think it was the Marines' hymn) the older couple in front of us began to hold hands as the gentleman teared up. I thought to myself, what this man must have gone through, seen and heard all in the name of keeping our country safe so that my boys have a wonderful place to live. It is very humbling to think about.

After the ceremony the boys and I walked around the cemetery and I showed them where various family members and friends were buried. They got to see pictures of their great-great grandparents which they thought was pretty cool. Our final stop was at their Grandpa Ricky and Grandma Ada's graves. I had put flowers there the night before with my mom. We stopped and talked about how Grandpa Ricky had fought in a war and helped to keep us safe and even though we never met him that he was watching over us. Then we remembered stories of Grandma Ada - how she always bought the boys chocolate milk and came over every Christmas morning with homemade pancake mix for breakfast. It was so nice to take time to remember those little moments that make such lasting memories for the boys.

On the way home I answered lots of questions about soldiers and how they help us. I really think the boys learned alot by going to the ceremony and taking the time to honor and remember those that have gone before us. This will definitely become a new tradition for us - to attend the Memorial Day Celebration and remember, honor and show our respect to all those brave souls who contributed to making this world a better place.