Celebrating those lost with the ones you love.

Where does the time go?? It's been two whole weeks since the last momma monday post. Last week's post got skipped- due to the no power or wifi all day during the storms. No worries- this week its back! 

Have I mentioned how hard it is to write a blog post with a tiny baby around? (I actually started and stopped this post 5 times today before I could get it finished. And it’s not all that spectacular.) As we speak my husband is currently holding Em and walking circles around our house to keep her content so I can write (such a good hubby/daddy). She’s a walker…meaning she wants to move and see it all but doesn’t have the ability to actually walk herself yet. Some days this leads to very tired parents. She’s also the only two month old I’ve ever seen that fights sleep as hard as she does. She already doesn’t want to miss a thing. We’re in trouble.

Well, once again this post is not what I had intended to write about this week. I have had a particular post involving my swing, squirrels, and bb guns (intrigued aren’t you?) ready for two weeks now, but every Monday something happens that makes it seem not quite appropriate. It did not make it last Monday because Oklahoma experienced the largest tornado in history and I didn’t feel right posting something that now seems trivial, when so many friends were hurting. Now today as I was getting ready to re-send it, I realized it’s Memorial Day. A day meant to celebrate all of those who have given their lives for our freedom. Again, my topic doesn’t seem to fit. Don’t get me wrong. That post WILL make an appearance next week. Only because this morning there was another “incident.” But today I’m going to leave you with some thoughts that seem a bit more sensitive to the holiday.

Honestly, most memorial days come and go without a single thought from me (I’m just thankful my husband has the day off for a long weekend). I’ve never really known someone who lost their life fighting for our freedom. Yes, I’ve always been incredibly thankful for these brave military men and women and their families, but I’ve never had a personal experience with this.

I’ve never had to worry about sending someone I love overseas, not knowing if they will return. I’ve never had to grieve when they don’t get to come home. But everyday, there are fellow Americans who do this willingly….and they do it for the rest of us.

Say what you want about our country and its flaws (I have plenty of opinions myself) but there is no other place on this planet that allows some of the freedoms we get to experience and we have our military to thank for this.

I got my first real taste of this two years ago when my husband and I took a vacation to Washington D.C. We went over Memorial Day weekend, which made the city incredibly crowded, but we also got to experience some amazing things. Every memorial we went to was filled with mementos and gifts people left behind for someone they love. To see the memorials in person is incredible in and of itself, but to see them covered with the belongings of people who personally knew someone who fought the good fight makes it even more touching.

Korean Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

The day after memorial day we went to Arlington Cemetery. If you have never been, add it to your bucketlist. It’s by far one of the most humbling and peaceful places I have ever been. For miles, all you can see are tombstones of soldiers who have given themselves for our freedom and everywhere you turn there are people paying tribute to someone they love.

Arlington National Cemetery

But my absolute favorite place at the cemetery would be the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Sure I’ve read about this and I’ve watched the ceremonies on T.V. but none of these do it justice. Never in my life have I been anywhere that was filled with so many people and yet so unbelievably quiet. There’s nothing like it. This is what Memorial Day is all about.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Now I’m not one of those people that thinks you should feel guilty about spending the day enjoying your grill, pool, family, and a day off of work. These are the freedoms our military fought to protect. I think the best way to honor what they have done is to enjoy this day, celebrate, and make the most of it. But as you do, maybe say a quick prayer for those families that can’t quite celebrate yet or show your gratitude to someone who has risked it all for you, and most importantly be thankful you live in a place that allows you the freedom to spend today however you wish. I’ll be spending my day with these two. Life doesn’t get much sweeter.