Happy Hamburger Day

It's taken me awhile to gather up my thoughts and emotions to be able to post again, plus life and weekends have been crazy busy.  Here is my attempt to rectify my absence, for the seven people that read what I have to say on a regular basis.  Thank you, seven people.  I appreciate your business.

"What is Hamburger Day?  Did she just make that up?"  Well, yes I did...sort of.  It should come as no surprise to you that today is Memorial Day, and I guess my made up holiday name is a cathartic and snarky way of calling out people who don't respect, appreciate, or understand what today is actually about.  (If you are between the ages of 1-13 you get a pass, otherwise, shame on you)

I can understand the bastardization of holidays like Easter and Christmas, and while I don't condone it, I get it.  Not everyone is a Christian, and not everyone celebrates these holidays with the solemnity and purpose they were designed to possess.  That's ok, because we're all unique snowflakes and not all built to believe, say, think, or celebrate things the same way, so despite my personal feelings on the sanctity of spiritual holidays, I certainly don't judge.

But if you are a U.S. citizen, which I'm going to wager that the majority of people living in our country are, Memorial Day applies to you, and you should recognize that.  We are all afforded opportunities and benefits that other places in the world don't even get to dream of having, and I feel like most of the time it is not only forgotten, but taken for granted.

I guess these feelings stem from the fact that Memorial Day was a household tradition in my family.  We didn't have many traditions, and a lot of them were far from normal, but Memorial Day was one of them.  My grandfathers both served in WWII, and my father was a Vietnam War veteran, with him and his father both being past commanders of the Post 821 American Legion in Clayton.  My brother and I were always members of the Sons of the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary, as was my mother, who just finished up her 4 or 5 year run as Post 821's Auxiliary President.  So, you can see why this holiday is pretty important to my family and me, and why I get perturbed when people don't acknowledge it.  I honestly can't even remember a year where I wasn't marching with the band, or with the junior Auxiliary, or just watching my dad in his sharp uniform firing his rifle in a salute to his fallen comrades.  It was one of those things that I just assumed all families did, because that was something that was important to mine so, why wasn't it important to everyone?

So back to Hamburger Day.  We don't have school, and most of us don't have to work, so what should we do?  Barbecue, drink excessively, watch TV, and play games.  Let me preface what I'm about to say with a disclaimer that NOTHING I just mentioned is wrong, or bad, and all are perfectly normal activities for a holiday weekend.  But did you stop to think about why we get to do these things, though?  Why is it a tradition to enjoy our friends, family, the weather, and recreational activities?  It's because people sacrificed their lives for our freedoms.  So when we boil down our holiday of remembrance of them to simply grilled meats and beer, you can see how it seems to send the message that our freedoms trump their sacrifice, and not the other way around.

Yesterday I had the honor of attending a funeral for a fallen soldier whose life was taken far too soon, and whose wife is now a widow, and whose children are now fatherless.  He was only 35 years old, and he was a truly selfless soldier.  It's moments like that that not only make me incredibly proud to be an American citizen, but also wake me up into realizing that nothing in this life is promised, and that we have to take advantage of- not take for granted- the opportunities that are now a part of our cultural norm because others paid the ultimate price for our country.

It may be too little too late, because your Memorial Day celebrations are likely coming to a close, but as your day winds down, your grills close, and your beverages come out of the cooler and go back into the fridge, think about how you celebrated your Memorial Day.  Did you thank someone who selflessly serves our country?  Did you visit the grave of a loved one?  Did you salute the American flag?  Did you say a prayer for those who have served and those continuing to serve our country?  If not, I'm certainly not here to judge you, but merely to inform you that you had a really great Hamburger Day, but that your Memorial Day hasn't quite happened yet.