The Last Monday in May

Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) began as a way to remember and honor those who gave their lives in the service of their country.

On May 5, 1868 General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic proclaimed flowers be placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery. It was to be a time of remembering and honoring and healing.

One hundred years later, the U.S. Congress designated the last Monday in May as the official Memorial Day. To some its a get out of jail free day... no school, no work. It is used as another day to vacation or to commence the first home improvement project of the summer.

In my family, Memorial Day is a day to remember our dear ones who are no longer with us and to honor our ancestors.

Throughout my life I have heard my parents and grandparents talk about going to decorate graves. I've had the opportunity to go with them to various cemeteries in Idaho and Utah. Those are sweet memories. To drive through the small towns and hear them tell 'who lived here' and 'whose business was over there' and 'the dances we used to attend at this church or school'. I wish I had a recording of them telling the stories.

These are the graves of my grandparents, great grandparents and great great grandparents. I dearly miss my grandparents and my sweet mother misses her parents. We stood in the cemetery and laughed and cried remembering them.

Here Mom is securing flowers near her grandparents marker. Mom has perfected the technique using wire hangers cut in half to help stake down the container so it won't tip over in the wind.

You also need a willing assistant who will fetch the water so the plants will have a fighting chance for a few days. Sarah was very willing.

Mom came prepared with genealogy charts so we could look for more distant ancestors. It took a little while, but we found some!

After the cemetery, I asked if Mom could drive us to the old family home. Here Sarah is listening to her Grandmother tell her stories of family and life as it was then... and how much Sarah's great great grandmother would have loved her brown eyes.

I am so grateful for the blessing of loving family and for the example of my hardworking, faithful ancestors.

Memorial Day is special to me.