Tomorrow is the day we all get off to remember the men and women who have sacrificed to keep our freedoms. Memorial Day. It has become a holiday where folks BBQ and sit in the sun, eating watermelon and sipping frosty beers.
Remembering is an active word. To remember someone or something you allow yourself to recount the days past. You spend a moment letting that memory sink into your heart. You feel the emotion that memory evokes. When we remember those who lost their lives for us we feel emotions like sadness, pride, gratefulness. Those memories may spur us into an action such as thanking a veteran for their sacrifice or to send prayers for the lives lost and those they left behind. Perhaps you will place a flag outside your home or visit a grave and place a flag or flower there.
To remember ... to give thanks .... to breath in the freedom we enjoy and live. That is Memorial Day to me.
It is also my anniversary, and in the midst of a month and a half of several significant birthdays.
This year most of my compatriots turn 60....(not all but most). There is something about this birthday that causes us to look back and reflect on what went before. How did we get to this place we are today. You relive a thousand moments of joy and a few of sadness and you definitely count your blessings.
How very lucky Glenn and I have been. Life is full of surprises, some of which take our breath away. Some of those moments shake you to your core in a way you wonder if you can survive. Deaths of people you love, illness like Cancer, other people's lives which spun out of control in front of your eyes. Those harrowing times I could never have survived without the amazing people who have been a part of our lives for decades. The past two days we were able to spend some time with a few of those people.
We dined at Chuck and Stefanie's home in Pacifica in a birthday celebration for the 3 amigos, but mainly for Chuck who turned 60 right before me.
They both are tanned and trim and living a semi retired life. Always the most incredible cooks, whose cooking rivals any 5 star chefs out there. We were treated to a sumptuous dinner with stellar wines. LUCKY? you bet!
I might butcher the spelling or explanation of the food which included this timbale, stunning main dish delicately scented and served with delicious whirled peas and better than mashed buttery potatoes.
Finished with a chocolate almond cherry torte with white chocolate glaze.
Keeping Glenn in mind they severed him a plain steak with a green salad and wedge of lemon and baked potato not to mention a frozen shot glass for his Bourbon.
Better than the food was the warmth of the company. Conversations ran the gambit of past, present and a lot of future. Certainly there will be a lot of future for all of us together.
Then yesterday we headed to Lafayette where Dana's family has had a second home for years. Anticipating a warm day, the wind kept us out of the pool, but the guests all enjoyed their time. It was a watermelon theme. I didn't realize this... until the night before, nor did I know there would be an extended list of people attending. I made a quick trip in the morning to Suzy Cakes and brought some mini cupcakes along.
Some of those who were there were people we know from sailing. And of course there was the core. Dana, Glenn and Chuck... plus their wives, Misako, Stephanie and me. This six some has been together for as long as I have been married to Glenn... but the boys go back even farther. Glenn and Dana attended elementary school together. Chuck and they all attended Lowell High School together. AND they own the boat together.
I don't know if you can see what I feel when I look at this picture.
I feel the kind of ease and contentment that time and love create.
LUCKY
You bet.
Here's to the future boys.
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