Remembering and Honoring this Memorial Day

Meme told me this morning that this is Memorial Day weekend. It's a very important time. Most people think of this weekend as the beginning of summer, an extra day off work, a time for hot dogs and beans, burgers and fries, apple pie and ice cream. And she says it is all that, but it is much, much more.


This is a holiday of remembrance. This is a time we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country and defending our citizens so that this weekend we can all come together with our friends and families and have the freedom to say and do pretty much whatever we want because we live in this beautiful, free country.


Of course, I understand none of this because I'm just a dog. And unless I'm in my house, I'm usually on a leash so not sure what's so darned free about that!!! But I do know that I have a darned good life and I can do just about whatever I like (as long as I'm on that stupid leash and someone picks up after me). I don't know what dogs do in other countries. I hear there are a lot of other great countries out there, but I also hear there are some where things are not so great and Meme tells me that an awful lot of people here in America just don't seem to know how lucky they are. It's not their fault, we all sometimes forget to look at the bright side. We all, from time to time, tend to complain and criticize things we see happening that we don't completely understand. Sometimes we need just a little nudge to remind us.


So this Memorial Day, I hope everyone celebrates this nice long weekend. I hope you have parties and cookouts and good times with your friends and families. I hope you see all the sales at the stores and go out and spend money, bolster our economy.


There's also plenty of time in the weekend to stop a moment, take a breath and remember all the men and women who have paid a painful price to bring us to this moment. And let's not just say we support our troops, let's honor our troops. Let's recognize that these men and women believe in what they're doing and the reasons they're doing it .... to preserve life as we know it in this country, to fight against those who wish to do us harm. These are strong, brave men and women ... some of the most honorable we have ever known.


We're not always perfect, but there are an awful lot of individuals who are as close to perfect as we can imagine. While we're all having a good time enjoying our freedom this weekend, let's remember them. Let's honor them.


'Til next time....


Molly