Pea of Sweetness

  • Home
  • My Shop
  • About Us
    • About Emilee & Pea of Sweetness
    • Awards
    • Contact Us
    • Disclosure Policy
    • Privacy Policy
  • Work with Me
    • PR Information & Media Kit
    • Sponsor/Advertising Info
    • Sponsorship Opportunties
  • Proudly Part Of
  • Blogs I Enjoy
  • Faith
  • Family
    • Parenting
      • Parenting Special Needs Children
    • Pets
  • Homeschooling
    • Homeschool Reviews
      • Preschool Reviews
    • Homeschooling Special Needs Children
    • 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents
  • Homemaking
    • Meal Planning
    • Recipes
  • Special Needs
    • Autism
    • Sensory Processing Disorder
    • Cancer
  • Natural/Eco-friendly Living
    • Natural/Eco-friendly products
  • Health & Fitness
    • Health and Fitness
    • Wellness Wednesday
  • Reviews & Giveaways
    • Current Giveaways
    • Giveaway Linky
    • Reviews
    • Winners
    • Blogger Opps
  • Travel
    • Ohio Attractions
    • Ohio Events

A Note about Memorial Day

May 23, 2015 by Emilee Evans

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which means many things to many people. It’s often noted as the unofficial start to summer and many people celebrate the weekend with a cookout or other type of get together with friends. Many summer weather attractions like swimming pools and water parks open for the season. It’s also a time that we start to see posts all over social media reminding us not to forget what Memorial Day is all about.
A Note about Memorial Day
As I’m seeing posts all over my Facebook feed, I have been sharing a few and saying a few resounding “Yeses!” as I read these important reminders. Simply sharing a graphic isn’t enough, though. I knew I had to right a note about Memorial Day because it’s been clear to me that people do often forget what Memorial Day is truly about. Here are the key misconceptions I see:

Memorial Day is a Weekend Celebration

Memorial Day is, indeed, a long weekend, and it is all the things I mentioned – noted as the unofficial start to summer. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this. Summer attractions have to open sometime, and a three day weekend (and the usually nice weather) is a great time to have a cookout. In fact, my husband helped with a cookout after the church softball game today and we’re going to a cookout tomorrow. Is enjoying the beautiful weather over a long weekend wrong? Of course not! Are we acknowledging that Monday is Memorial Day, though? Maybe not.
Memorial Day is a time to remember those who paid the ultimate price. They sacrificed everything for our country – for our freedom. Should we take some time on Memorial Day to acknowledge this – ABSOLUTELY! We make it a point to look up information on our country’s fallen and teach our children what Memorial Day really means. Whether or not you have children, it’s humbling to read about those who sacrificed it all – to put faces to names and think about what their sacrifice meant. This is what Memorial Day is all about – a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America.

Memorial Day is a day to Acknowledge Current Military and Veterans

It never fails that on Memorial Day, I get tagged in status messages thanking my husband for his service. It makes me cringe. It’s not that I’m not proud of my husband and thankful for his service. He’s a Disabled Veteran. It’s not that I’m not thankful and appreciative of all our Veterans and those currently serving. I know the sacrifices they made and make every day. They have a day for that, though. It’s called Veteran’s Day. There is also Armed Forces Day. These days are reserved for our military and veterans.
Memorial Day, though, is reserved for those that gave all – their life. I think about all the spouses who are now widows, the children who are forever missing their parents, the parents who are forever missing their children, the siblings who are missing their brother or sister – their best friend. Memorial Day means something different to them. It’s the day they remember their loss. When my husband was in The Old Guard and part of the ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery I got a look into this loss, and it’s something I will always carry with me. It reminds me how important Memorial Day is. These families carry their loss every day. Can’t we take time on one day to remember and honor the sacrifice these soldiers made?

National Moment of Remembrance

Now I’m asking you to join me in remembering those who gave all on Memorial Day. The “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”
Just one moment out of our day isn’t a lot, but it’s something we can ban together and do in honor of the sacrifices that were made so we can be free. Will you join me?
 

Share this:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Military Life Tagged With: memorial day, military

Comments

  1. Lori Pouncey says

    May 24, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    Thank you for remembering the real reason for this holiday observance. It is true too often we lose sight of the true meaning of many, many holidays.

    • Emilee says

      May 24, 2015 at 2:52 pm

      Yes, that is definitely true!

  2. barrie says

    May 24, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    I didn’t know about the National day of Remembrance! Now that I know, I’ll observe it every year!

    • Emilee says

      May 24, 2015 at 2:53 pm

      I think many people are unaware of it. Please spread the word!

  3. Kim Hilbert says

    May 24, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    Very nice post to remember our heroes. Our family has many members that have served and we do remember memorial day as a day of thanks to our armed services.
    Kim Hilbert recently posted…Easy Kids Craft: Window ClingsMy Profile

    • Emilee says

      May 24, 2015 at 3:58 pm

      Remember, though, it’s a day to honor those who have died serving our country – not current armed forces and veterans, which is one of the misconceptions I mentioned. We have Veteran’s Day and Armed Forces Day to honor them, but Memorial Day is a day of remembrance to the fallen.

  4. Kim Hampton says

    May 24, 2015 at 4:47 pm

    Such a great post. I don’t think it hurts though to honor ALL our soldiers on Memorial Day, the fallen and those who served and are currently serving. I don’t think we can honor all of them enough, the living and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

    • Emilee says

      May 24, 2015 at 9:48 pm

      I agree, ideally we should honor our military every day, but it’s important to remember the purpose of Memorial Day. The soldiers who are posting pictures of buddies they lost in battle, the soldiers who are placing the flags for Flags In, most of them will tell you they don’t want the day to be about them. They want it to be about those that went before them and lost their lives serving our country.

  5. Coupon Gal (Andi) says

    May 24, 2015 at 5:59 pm

    “…all gave some, but some gave all” – remember….
    Coupon Gal (Andi) recently posted…Missed Last Week’s Smartsource Coupons? They’re Here!My Profile

  6. Karen Beckett says

    May 25, 2015 at 5:13 am

    I enjoyed reading your post & I whole-heartedly agree with you. Sometimes people do tend to forget the true meaning of the day. At 3 pm I will join you in a moment of silent memorial.

  7. natalie nichols says

    May 29, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    It gets under my skin when people thank my SO on memorial day!!!

Top Posts & Pages

  • OraMD Review
  • Homeschooling Special Needs Children - It IS possible! Our Story
  • Insomnia at its Finest
  • Grammar 101: Appropriate use of the " 's "
  • Koru Naturals Review
  • Healthy Home Cleaning Giveaway
  • Free to Be Crabby with Maxine
  • Super Simple Learning DVD Review
  • Keeping Young Children on Task (Part 2)
  • What are Cervicogenic Headaches?

Recent Posts

  • Under Construction
  • How to Manage (and Use) all Those Pictures of Your Kids
  • Castaway Bay Getaway for Family Fun
  • 5 Winner Utzy Naturals Allurtica Seasonal Relief Giveaway! $262 TRV Giveaway!
  • Spend the Day at Castaway Bay {Enter to Win 4 Day Passes!}

Recent Comments

  • catofashions coupons on Affordable Women's Fashion and Accessories
  • Happy Hiller on Keep Your Home Connected with Netgear Arlo Smart Home from Best Buy
  • Pencil Sketch Drawing on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}
  • fast apps apk on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}
  • strobe light on Learn to Draw a Cat {Drawing Tutorial}

Archive

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in