For as long as I can remember Memorial Day has been the ultimate holiday for me. I would like to tell you it's because of my overwhelming love for visiting graves of relatives. It's not, although I do enjoy that, the real reason is because it's just plain the most fun we have all year. Many, many moons ago my Grandpa happened upon a beautiful shady park in a beautiful little town and the local scout troop was cooking breakfast as a fundraiser. They stopped and ate and and played around and had so much fun they went back every year thereafter.
About 5 years ago or so we went up to discover the scout troop had abandoned their traditional breakfast. Since that year we now bring everything to cook our own. After breakfast we play kickball, softball, volleyball, steal the flag, soccer, ultimate frisbee, etc. My Grandpa always cooked (or supervised the cooking of) hotdogs for lunch. All of us bring snacks, balls, nets, mitts, games, water balloons, anything to occupy us all day long. We usually get there between 9 and 10 and leave sometime around 6:00 pm. There's a cute little fenced in playground with sand, swings and toys for the little kids and ball fields and miles of open grass for the rest of us. One of my uncles bravely takes all the kids (probably around 20?) across the street to the convenience store where they load up on the laffy taffy and bubblegum. If sports isn't your thing, you can lay around on blankets and chat and laugh in good company. It's honestly paradise.
Whenever a member of my family gets married we joke that the in-laws can have Christmas and Thanksgiving as long as we get Memorial Day. I realize this is kind of a random holiday to have such devotion to, but seriously -- it's the best. Sometimes it takes new spouses a year or two to truly appreciate the magic of Memorial Day, evidently we take ourselves a tinsy bit seriously when we play volleyball and some of them feel a little uncomfortable when they get run over or yelled at by an uncle or cousin who can't believe they didn't sacrifice their body for the ball.
This holiday perfectly represents my Grandpa. It's all about family, fun, and randomness. Last year Grandpa couldn't make it, his already ill health took a turn for the worse shortly before that day and on June 3rd he died. This will be the first year we celebrate this day since he died. It just won't be the same without Grandpa sitting in a camp chair with his hat on top of his head (rather than on it) wrapped up in blankets grabbing unsuspecting grand kids and great-grand kids with his cane.
I miss Grandpa so much and it will be so sad not to have him there this year, but I will forever be grateful for this particular tradition he started. We'll be thinking of him. Happy Memorial Day!
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9 comments:
oh ange how sweet, you made me tear up. I didn't even realize how fitting it is that is memorial day and we are celebrating it in memory of our dear grandpa. Good times, can't wait!
What a sweet and fitting post Ange. Although, very random location-wise it is a pretty cute little story about the Bell family memorial day, and how it came to be.
What a great tradition. Those relaxed family days are the best.
Good 'ol Memorial day. I look forward to it all year.
When I told some of my friends that Memorial day was bigger than Christmas in our family, they almost stoned me.
Well expressed, Ange. It's now a fun day on its own; but without a random, adventuresome, people-person Grpa, we wouldn't have it. What a great guy, and what a wonderful tradition he started.
Now I know why we drive up there! I'm still getting used to it- but it's fun to hear how much you guys love it.
In loving memory of "Grandpa". Don't count him short, he will be with all of you this year, too!
"Family, fun and randomness" truly sums up my dad, Ange. Great post as always.
The other day when Halen was asking me what Memorial Day was, I responded, Well it's a big holiday just like Christmas. Dave overheard me and yelled from the other room, "Did you just say Memorial Day is just like Christmas?" I responded, why yes. He replied, "Really dear?" As if to say, "Are you sure your really want to bring it to the level of such a sacred Holy day? And the answer is Yes! Family Time is important, right? So there! Awesome post! I copied it for my journal since you wrote it so well and it was just as I would have written it!
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