Memorial Day

In case you missed the whole "quintessential Air Force brat" thing, there are two days of the year that I suffer a particularly sentimental prickling of emotion and ergo cannot be seen in public lest I make a fool of myself with my sobbing and sniffling. Veterans' Day is one of them; Memorial Day is the other.

I get a little weepy around the 4th of July, too, but for some reason it's these two days that really hit home for me.

My father served our country for 20 years as a USAF fighter pilot; having enlisted at the beginning of the Korean War, he didn't see action during that period, but he did pull two tours of duty in Viet Nam, flying F4 Phantoms (he calls the Phantom his "baby" even to this day) in combat and earning an impressive number of service medals, most of which I didn't know about until I was in my thirties.

We were fortunate in that our family saw Dad's safe return stateside; a lot of others weren't so lucky.

So, on this day, our national day of remembrance, remember those who gave their lives so that you and I could live to enjoy the freedoms and privileges we have as American citizens.

End of soap box lecture.

Today is also my mother's birthday. The WGH and the kids trotted off to the lake to spend the day with my in-laws; since I had to work, I stayed behind with my folks (who were in for The Tall One's graduation), and we're going to take Mother out for dinner to celebrate however old she is (which we, of course, are not mentioning). It was my plan to get caught up on my reading this weekend. Yeah.

I hope you're able to spend time with your loved ones today. Enjoy it. And if you have time, read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB