It's Memorial Day Weekend. I spent most of it happily outside planting peppers, planting flowers, and just soaking up as much sun as I could. Other than putting the flag out on the porch,I didn't give much thought to the meaning of the weekend, until a six year old from down the street who was visiting, asked me flat out: Why do we have a holiday this weekend?
Because it's Memorial Day.
Why?
Because we set aside a day to honor people who died during a war.
Why?
I explained that my grandfather faught in World War I.... (but then I realized he didn't die.... so it wasn't a good example.) Then I hurriedly told her it was good to remember people who go fight in wars even if they don't die.
I was waiting for another "Why?" but she looked at me like she really didn't get it.
Like... why do we honor people who go to war?
It occurred to me, she is only six. She doesn't even know what War is.
So I said to run along and go home. Her family was leaving to go to a picnic, and she needed to get cleaned up. "Have a good time!" I yelled. For her Memorial Day weekend will mean hotdogs and hamburgers, swingsets and cousins to play with, and
maybe some watermelon. It's best to just let her be a kid a while longer.
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