Remembering Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day for the United States, a day that many people are happy to celebrate.  Often times, it is for the wrong reasons that they look forward to it, a day off to relax and have cook-outs.  But the reasoning behind this day is more significant than that.  Today is designated to remember and commemorate those men and women who had died while serving for our country.  We had traditionally extended that to cover the entirety of our armed forces, with Veterans' Day being used to honor those who have served.

I have a man in my family that did his duty to his country.  Although he did not die during his service, the fact I could never have the opportunity to meet him saddens me.  It is my maternal grandfather, Harold McKeon, who served during the Second World War.  Passed away before I was a twinkle in my father's eye, my granddad was kept alive by the medals and awards my Nanna kept and the stories she told us.  I remember coming home from school and running upstairs, eager to know something new.  I would go to the bottom drawer of her dresser and see all the military honors my grandfather achieved and, one by one, take them out, asking my Nanna, "What was this for?"

I wish I had written the stories down.  I wish I could remember everything that she told me.  My Nanna has also passed away since I was a young girl, running up the three steps that separated our home from the apartment we built on for my grandmother to come live with us.  She had by then moved into an assisted living facility, the highlight of my Sundays.  And, although it hurt sometimes to see her advancing in age, I cherished every moment I had with her.  While she wasn't able to physically see me graduate college and won't be able to physically attend my wedding, I know she is smiling down on me, my grandfather by her side, along with all my relatives that have gone before me.

My Nanna and Granddad on their wedding
day.

My fiance and I do not have a chance to celebrate Memorial Day by having the day off.  We have to go to work.  But I am glad I can do this.  I work on a project that is meant and designed to assist those in our military in some of the most basic needs, to improve their quality of life.  I can also work towards helping myself grow and excel in my place of employment.  While others will be having fun, spending time with family and enjoying a day to relax, my fiance and I will be doing our civic duty.

If you are in the United States and have today off, please enjoy it.  But keep this in mind.  When you go to a restaurant or to the grocery store today or simply going for a walk maybe in your hometown, be aware of those businesses that are still open.  These are the people who are also sacrificing so you can better enjoy your day.  When interacting with them, try to keep that in mind if they are not the cheeriest.  Take it from someone who has had to work when everyone else has the day off: it is sometimes hard to be happy when it seems everyone else can relax.  Enjoy today.  If you are not celebrating Memorial Day, take a deep breath and celebrate what you can today: Life.

Soft, Gray Skies and Dandelions

The drive to work is never overly enjoyable. I find small consolation in the scenery I pass but it has become rather monotonous. The same tree, same flowers, same houses. Yesterday, while driving to work, the sky was covered with a soft, gray cloud. You could see the clouds straining to contain the sun, evident by the cracks that were white and almost glowing. Suddenly, I felt extremely small…

Soft, gray sky not unlike the one I saw

Here I was, driving a car. A car that weighs far more than I do and I am controlling it. In this car, I was driving under a sky. A sky that looked somber, reminding me of getting caught in the rain during a Girl Scout hike. Or, rather, walking in downtown Wexford, Ireland, and getting caught in the Irish rain that rises without fail. Scurry into a nearby shop to seek shelter or reprieve or perhaps, to wait it out with a pastry and a hot cup of tea.

I then passed by a lumber yard while I was driving my car under the soft, gray sky. I saw a bucket truck lifting what appeared to be as mulch, steaming as the water began to fall from the cool sky, into a dump truck. Then the logs from the trees who can tell us stories, if only they could speak. Alas, they stand silent. In the lumber yard, we humans, again, take control of their fate and destiny. The rain came soft and light, a drizzle, as I drove my car.

I felt so small. Here I was in this world that I drive by continuously. What had I forgotten that I had witnessed on my drive? Oh yes, it come flooding back. The crime scene. The evidence of a building standing a mere shell to its former self. The hole left in wake appeared to be that of a car’s doing. The yellow tape stretched across the opening of the building, its black lettering screaming its warning to all who come near.

Here I was, a humble woman, living in a world that is so much bigger than myself and I get sometimes so ignorant to what is around me. I forget to look at what I am going past and what is in the line of vision. I have become so enslaved in my pattern I forget to step out of the rut. We all get that way.

I know I talk a lot about nature, about pattern, about the magnitude of what is around us. I have written about enjoying nature and embracing what is around you in the past. I have touched on how we get so involved in our lives that we forget to look up. But now I have a word for it…

Enslavement

We are all guilty of it. Furthermore, this can be present in both positive and negative ways. If we become involved in a substance, in work, in vices, these are examples of negative enslavement. If we become caught up in outlets, creative expression, problem solving or the like, these are examples of positive enslavement. For example, the daily grind I go to, while I like my job, is negative. I may come home and not have the most positive attitude or be as upbeat as my fiancé may want me to be. This causes me to be ignorant of the people and things around me, in effect blinding me to their needs. This blog, however, is positive enslavement. It is a creative outlet for me, a way to express myself. It is also a way I communicate with my family, friends, my fiancé as well as you, Reader, and the rest of the world. This is also positive because when I talk about it with my fiancé or he asks me questions, I look forward to answering them. I have no problem discussing Writer’s Block or that I am going to write something a little daring (See “The (D)Evolution of Sex”).

But even with both my positive and negative enslavements, there needs to be time for me to be caught up in nothing. Just the world. To walk, to embrace my fiancé, to simply exist, all done without a care,

As though the seeds on the wind....

without concern or without an agenda. Sometimes, I miss the days when recess consisted of going on a playground and running around, climbing, jumping, swinging…or simply sitting in a field picking dandelions. Only can the simple child see the elegance and beauty of what we, as adults, perceive as weeds. We can all admit that we would be lying if we pretended to not acknowledge this fact. I can remember the joy I felt whenever I came across the delicate, seed portal of the dandelion, of picking it gingerly and closing my eyes, making a wish. Softly blowing the seeds helter-skelter everywhere, watching as the wind swirled and picked them up.

Just remember to stop every once in a while and enjoy what is around you.  The world, the sky, the flowers even the weeds.  They all play an important role not only in nature but in your life as well.  Try and remember how we saw them as a child, how we stood in awe of everything.  That is the way we should try to see the world and embrace it.  Enjoy it, embrace it...most importantly, don't forget to live Life.