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Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance. As Ted was telling KayeLynn and I earlier today, it was a day set aside to remember the fallen soldiers, to remember the lives they lost. It evolved into a day to remember all those who have passed before us. Those we loved - those we lost.

Being a baby boomer, there are a few people that have left me behind. I've lost aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, acquaintances, in-laws. The most significant being a husband and my dad.

Now, my dad, he was a rather awesome kind of man. He was a World War II veteran. He went to war in the Pacific. It was not something he really ever talked about. We don't know really anything that he faced, anything he saw, anything he did while fighting in the South Pacific. He came back home, to southern Utah and shortly afterward met my mom at a dance. My gosh, you should have seen the two of them dance - it was amazing!! I think I only saw it once at a wedding, but, holy cow!! They had moved from here, to there and finally settled in West Valley where they raised five kids - me, I am the baby. The house I grew up in, between him and a couple of uncles, was built by his own two hands.

My dad, he didn't take any guff from his kids. He snapped a finger and you better pay attention. Being the youngest, though, I was kind of lucky - the others wore him down - I think I got away with a little bit more than my three sisters and my brother (well, my sisters anyway - my brother got away with ALOT more!!). But, they were older than me, too - so he was a lot older when I got to be a teenager. Anyway, if he snapped his finger, you better get up, you better do what he wanted. I was dragged out of bed in the middle of the night one night to do dishes because I didn't do them when I was supposed to. But, on the other hand, if I wanted something, I generally could pout my way to it. Rodger still talks about getting in trouble when he slept over with his sisters once and getting the old "rooster hook" and he was only six when his grandpa died.

I honor my dad today. I hope he knows how much I miss him. How much my kids miss him. How much Ted would have liked him. Though you weren't perfect, we knew you loved and cared about us.

Hope you had a great (yet cold) Memorial Day. To those who served, to those who still serve I salute you and may peace be with you.
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