As I look at the United States Flag in the Memorial case given in honor of my father by the honor guard during his funeral service, I think about the true meaning of Memorial Day. He was proud to be a Marine that served at IowaJima. Memorial Day became a federal holiday to honor our war veterans on 1866. Their gravestones are marked with American flags during the three day weekend and American flags are flown at half-staff from morning till noon. Some towns have parades and concerts; the National Memorial Day Concert takes place on the White House west lawn. But the true meaning of Memorial Day has been lost, since it was changed to a Monday to give a three day weekend. Memorial Day is celebrated different ways by families. Many families gather to spend a long weekend together to launch the beginning of summer. My family is no different.
For the past thirty years, we celebrated Memorial Day at the same place with the same people, honoring the family; although, our family structure changed during those years. Thirty years ago, my brother, my parents, my husband and I purchased a home on Lake Cherokee. Every weekend we remodeled another section of the cabin to make it usable for our needs. Gradually, the work leveled off and more lake activities began to take over. As my family size increased, my mother would watch the children while we played on the lake. When dinner time came, all the women would gather in the kitchen to put the finishing touches on the meal that my mother had usually cooked. My brother married after a few years, and then everything just tripled, with my parents the hub cap of the wheel. Every Memorial Day we opened the lake house for the summer season with the family spending the long weekend together.
Now, thirty years later, a few things are different. Instead of my parents being the hubcap for the spokes, my husband and I maintain the center of the wheel. Our three daughters and their families showed up for this three day weekend full of excitement for the new season. Who keeps the children while their parents are on the lake tubing? Our daughters assume that we, Grammy and Grampy, will keep the kids. My role has followed that of my mother’s, watching the children and preparing the meals. Today for lunch, not only were the women in the kitchen, but the men were there, also. They were washing dishes, preparing the meat, cooking the meat, discussing which rubs to put on the meats. The role of the male in the kitchen has changed drastically since the onset of our lake experiences. The interaction of all the daughters, spouses, and their father in the kitchen cooking together created an image of the meaning of family not to be forgotten. Even after thirty years, some things haven’t changed, my brother and his family, and my mother still came for lunch, giving thanks for another year together with an ever growing and changing family. Tradition is still there this Memorial Day, with the focus still on the family, just the size and center of the family has changed.
http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
