What We Value

The week or so prior to Memorial Day weekend brings back memories for me of my grandmother carefully picking her best peonies, wrapping them in newspaper, and storing them in the old refrigerator in her garage until it was time to take them to the cemetery to decorate the graves of loved ones. Peonies remain one of my favorite flowers probably because they remind me of my grandmother. Grandma had a yard full of beautiful flowers, and good thing, because we always visited and decorated the graves of several relatives. I have moved far away from my childhood home and I’m no longer able to visit our families “people garden”, as my nephew used to call cemeteries. Isn’t it amazing how children can come up with such simple yet accurate descriptions. This great distance between myself and “home” doesn’t stop me from remembering those times and people. Originally named Decoration Day to honor those who died while serving in the military, Memorial Day has now come to encompass that and so much more. It is a time to remember service men and women, remember family members, and remember who we are and what we value.