Blogger at Late Enough 
My 5-year-old is extraordinarily disappointed that we don’t celebrate Memorial Day. Although I tend to not shy away from death, I haven’t explained to him what “memorial” means, and since all the other holidays have presents or cake or friends over to play, it seems reasonable to wonder where the celebration is. This year Memorial Day also happens to fall on his 5 and 3/4 birthday, which, if you remember from childhood, is a BIG DEAL.
However, I find Memorial Day difficult. I don’t want to treat it like any old 3-day-weekend and not just because I hate 3-day-weekends. (The pressure to do something. The traffic. The crowds. The drunks. The sweat. The stories of other people doing things. Ugh.) Mostly, I don’t know how to “celebrate” people giving their lives for our country. As a Late Enough reader pointed out, it’s odd to say “Happy Memorial Day,” and some veterans feel strange when we thank those who are still alive since it is a day to honor the memory of their fallen brothers and sisters.
I grew up in a tiny town of 5000, and I remember the Memorial Day Parade as a time our town came together. The firemen and the Girl Scouts and anyone who could ride a horse. We waved flags, and I looked concerned when the bagpipes went by (although I always liked the kilts).
I saw that Richmond was holding a “2012 Welcome Home Military Veterans Parade,” and I was excited to recapture some of the coming together in celebration and memory. But it’s on May 19 for Armed Forces Day. What a great idea, but it isn’t about Memorial Day. Our family will still be sitting in our backyard with our American flags on Monday, May 28 with nothing to do that feels right.
Perhaps that’s exactly how to celebrate Memorial Day. Being with our families. Thinking about our country. When we are missing a someone – a soldier, a friend, a father, a daughter – it is the little moments that we miss the most.
A small moment from last year.
For Memorial Day, I will appreciate these small moments like baking cupcakes to celebrate my son’s 5 and 3/4 years on Earth to honor of the military families who can’t celebrate these moments anymore.
We’ll remember for Memorial Day.
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