Memorial Day Weekend

I have never been one of those extremely patriotic people. You wouldn't catch me hanging a flag on my door, that's for sure. But that had nothing to do with a lack of love for my country. It was just a lack of team spirit. When I was in school, I was too cool for any and all school activities, and made fun of them all. That mentality kind of stuck.

My husband, on the other hand, is ex-military. Military Police to be exact. An Army Veteran. A Patriot to the bone. When I'd roll my eyes and walk past a flag raising at Disneyland, he would stop, take off his hat, and salute. Granted, it was extremely odd to me at first. But over the years, his love for our country, and his respect for our soldiers has more than rubbed off. These days, Memorial Day doesn't mean a three day weekend, (literally, since we both have clients Monday) it means truly honoring and remembering those fallen soldiers, who fought for the freedoms we get to enjoy.

So, when hubby called me a couple of days ago to tell me that he would like to take the kids to the Los Angeles National Cemetery on the Westside to place flags on the graves of our fallen soldiers, I could not be happier.

To be completely honest, I had no idea that this was even a thing. But it is and it was an absolutely amazing lesson for the boys and me. Even those of us who were too cool for school found this absolutely endearing and so very important.

It has been said, “poor is the Nation that has no heroes, but beggared is the Nation that has and forgets them.” This is a way to remember our heroes.

This was such a special experience for my family, and it will definitely become tradition.

It's fun and easy to do. The cemetery provides the flags, so all you do is show up, take some flags and start placing them on the graves. My boys also thanked and saluted each soldier by name. It was a very personal and special touch.