As today is Memorial Day, my message today is a simple one: Take time to reflect and remember the important people, the important moments, and the important events in your life.
No picnics, parties or parades necessary. Just take time to consider what you have or what you have become because of the outside influences in your life.
If you'd like to take a moment and post a memory, please do.
Here's mine:
My father, who died when I was 3, served in the
Korean War. I remember very little about him. The one memory I do have of him, however, is a lovely one. At the time, we lived in
a tiny town east of Chicago, on the Indiana side. It was a Standard Oil town, with corner markets and row houses. Imagine wooden railing porches on second floors, grassy yards, clothesline poles...and a pungent odor in the smoke-filled air.
If I think back really hard, I can see bits and pieces--not the full picture anymore--but I do recall a big paper sack. And in that sack was the penny candy my dad had bought for me at the corner market called, I think, the Sugar Bowl. I don't remember the type of candy anymore, but I do recall we were walking in the street. Maybe we'd just gotten back from the market. But this incomplete memory is all I have left of the father I never got a chance to know.
I'm glad it's about giving. He gave me that candy, and my guess is I probably got to pick out what I wanted. Although I don't recall that specifically, I can connect with the excitement of what that must have felt like. In my child mind, that sack was as large as a grocery bag, while my adult mind says it was was probably more like a lunch bag. Even so, it's my only memory of him. For as long as I can retain it, I'll be happy to have at least that. To me it's a reminder about the goodness of giving and the impression your gifts can leave behind...I guess that means we should choose wisely.
All my best,
Jackie
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