A Creative Memorial Day Tribute
Never Forget
The month of May brings us one of the most sobering holidays of the year--Memorial Day. This holiday is a time for remembering family and friends who are no longer with us. It is typically remembered through gravesite visits and flowers, and cemeteries across the country are beautifully adorned by thousands of visitors with flowers, balloons, flags and sometimes more personal offerings. It can be a time for fond remembrances of days shared with family and friends, but for some it stands as a grim reminder of the sadness associated with losing a loved one before their time. Memorial day weekend can be a particularly difficult time for the elderly, who sometimes feel lonely and isolated while remembering contemporaries that did not live as long. If you have elderly friends and relatives, please spend a little time with them over this long weekend. Trust me, they will be overjoyed to see you. If they can no longer drive, offer to take them to the cemeteries to remember their friends and relatives--it is important to them.
Unlike other Memorial Day weekends, I am seeking another means for remembering those who have departed this year. I will honor my friends and relatives at their graves as usual, but something inside me cries out for a new way to remember them. As an artist, I feel compelled to express myself with images as well as words, and this is what I have chosen to do today.
On this Memorial Day weekend, I am so reminded of the good times I shared with my friends, and I feel compelled to implore each of you to step outside your normal routines and find one new way to remember one specific person you have lost to death. I would not suggest you fail to decorate graves with flowers or balloons, but look for a unique way to remember those that have passed away as well; play a song, cook a meal, watch a movie–anything that reminds you specifically of the one you are remembering through this gesture. That is what I am doing with this article and the accompanying drawing, and I feel young and alive. A normally sad holiday is exploding with energy and positive feelings. In remembering my friends in this manner, I am rejuvenated. I ask you to share this moment with me, and proudly celebrate the life of someone you have lost.
Thank you. Enjoy your day.
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Comments
AUTHORwt1s3rv3r, thanks for reading. I appreciate your kind words. Take care.
Mike
Good POst!
- AUTHOR
HubCrafter, thanks for your comments. I still miss my brother and my lifelong friend, even after a number of years.
Thanks for sharing your own memories. It is appreciated.
Mike
Hi Mike:
Thanks for sharing this. So many have gone on before us. It's good to reflect and remember.
My Dad was in the Air Force, shot down during WWII over Germany, spent a year in a prisoner of war camp.
Your painting brought back the memory of my father grudgingly sharing his story with an 11 year old son during a long car trip to see relatives.
He passed on in 2004.
Thanks again for writing, opening our memories.
HubCrafter
- AUTHOR
rml, thank you for the compliments. They are much appreciated.
This is a nice tribute and the artwork is terrific. I'm glad you shared this.
- AUTHOR
Yes, we sure do, Linda. Thanks for reading my words of tribute.
We miss Allen and Greg.
- AUTHOR
OddjobsMom, thanks for your comments, and I agree with you--writing about thoughts and feelings is more satisfying and "readable" than how-to's and statistics. Stop by any time, you are always welcome.
I enjoy your willingness to share. I like writing from the heart over statistics and how-to's. I will keep looking . . . hope you don't mind.
- AUTHOR
Thank you for the comment, Allen was my older brother and Greg a lifelong friend--both gone too soon.
Wonderful hub!
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