Memorial Day traditionally marks the end of spring and the beginning of a fun-filled summer. Bar-b-ques in the backyard, picnics in the park, and water skiing at the lake are hallmarks of this transitional holiday.
Let the good times begin, we seem to say. And with good reason. We live in a land where we are free to enjoy ourselves, free to spend some leisure time doing as we please, and free associate with whom we will.
Freedom Is Not Free
The freedom that we enjoy was given to us. But it was not free. It was purchased by the men and women of the armed services.
From General George Washington’s Continental Army at Valley Forge who braved the harshest elements of winter during the Revolutionary War, to the finest generation’s amphibious assault on the beaches of Normandy during the Second World War, and every conflict between and since, the brave men and women of America’s Armed Services have paid for our freedom.
Some paid with their service; others paid with their very lives.
Pay It Forward
And the payments continue. The U.S. military and their families are paying still today for our freedom. Because they serve, we can sleep peacefully at night, secure in our knowledge that America is well defended.
So, as you celebrate this holiday, take a few minutes to remember the sacrifices that made today possible. Talk to your children about the price of freedom and their responsibilities to uphold our way of life. Remind them of their obligation to live in an honorable way, one that exemplifies their gratitude to those who gave unselfishly so that we might enjoy this life.
On this Memorial Day, remember.
PreppingToSurvive.com 
May 30, 2011 at 8:06 am
We have a young mother of two boys (ages 9 and 7) who left to serve in Iraq right before Easter. She will be deployed for 6 months. Church members have volunteered to provide home cooked meals on Wednesday nights and Sunday. This way the dad can either pick the meals up at the church or they can be delivered. The boys said they look so forward to those two days each week to see what treats they will have while Mom is away serving our country.
The older son is a new Christian and as I told his dad, this will be such a wonderful lesson for John. As he grows older, no matter where he (or his younger brother) lives if he is plugged in at a local church, he may not have relatives near but he will always have family near.