It is Memorial Day. I'm sitting here watching the Today Show which I almost never do because Nicki Bunting had posted on Facebook about a story they would be showing. Indeed, it was a very nice piece on The American Widow Project--if you are reading this today, May 30, 2011, before 8 a.m. your time, tune in! There have been other wonderful Memorial Day stories too.

The rest of this Memorial Day will be taken with going to Mass this morning at 10 at the cemetery where Thomas is buried, and then this afternoon having a barbeque with family and friends. Memorial Day started as Decoration Day: families would picnic among the gravestones on Day, having decorated the graves of the soldiers. No sales for us today, though Thomas was a big believer in retail therapy. A lot of my Facebook friends have been a bit cranky about all of the sales this weekend and the emphasis on food, but I think it's OK. I've also seen a lot of acknowledgement of what this weekend is really about in the midst of the sales and picnics.

So, no, it is not a happy Memorial Day, but it can be a good one, remembering our beloved fallen, and celebrating their lives.