Happy Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day.  For those of my readers outside of the United States (and many Americans who don't actually know what the day is for), Memorial Day is a day to honor soldiers who have died while serving our country or who have sustained injuries while serving our country which led to their death.  Memorial Day was created from Decoration Day, a day which was used to honor those soldiers who died in during the Civil War.

In all honesty, I didn't know the true reason for Memorial Day until a few days ago.  I didn't know about Decoration Day until today.  Before I thought Memorial Day was to think about all people who had died, to mark the beginning of summer, and to cook out on our day off.  I was so wrong.

It is such a bittersweet idea to think about the many soldiers who have given their lives to protect me and generations before me.  It is bitter because I remember the man who soldiers who are blessed enough to serve and come back to a country that has turned their back on them.  Whether it was the black soldiers who fought in the World Wars to the soldiers who come back with PTSD and other illnesses or addictions and are left homeless with no where to go.

So today while you are digesting your hamburgers and hot dogs or you are brushing sand off of your feet take time out to think how someone else sacrificed for you.