Mom discovers real meaning of Memorial Day by Kim Dailey

I was driving past the American Legion a couple days ago when I heard my youngest daughter's voice pipe in from the back seat.

"Why are all those flags there, Mommy?"

I looked out the driver-side window and saw folks planting American flags near the parking lot entrance.

"It's almost Memorial Day," I replied.

"What's Memmm-oril Day?" she asked.

"Mem-or-ial Day is a day we remember people who have passed away. We also get to enjoy a break from school and work," I answered.

I co-teach in my school's history department, and I was excited to be embarking on a history lesson with my daughter. I spoke on remembering soldiers and family members and friends. Barbecues with family, sleeping in, and shopping the sales were also part of our discussion. I could hardly wait to get home and research the topic online for further dialogue.

I googled "Memorial Day History" and the website www.usmemorialday.org came up at the top of the list. I began to read about "Decoration Day," the original day of remembrance. The account spoke of the first official recognition of Memorial Day by John Logan in 1868. At that time, flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery.

It described poems and songs tied to the event and the sale of poppies by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. My mind slipped back to my youth as I remembered my parents purchasing these little red flowers and twisting their wire stems onto our car's rear-view mirror.

Reading further on the website, I was stopped in my tracks.

"Traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years. Many Americans nowadays have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored, neglected ... Some people think the day is for honoring any and all dead, and not just those fallen in service to our country."

I was one of those people. I read on.

"Many feel that when Congress made the day into a three-day weekend with the National Holiday Act of 1971, it made it all the easier for people to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day ... No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."

The words 'shopping" and "barbecue" reverberated in my head, and I began to feel guilt well up in my core. I looked back to the top of the article and read the first line from the website aloud to my daughter.

"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service."

Let us never take for granted our service people who fought to secure our freedoms. Let us never forget that while we are sleeping in or shopping or barbecuing, there are still service men and women facing uncertainty and risking their very lives so that we may continue to enjoy these endeavors. This Memorial Day, as we take note of the red, white, and blue, let us never forget to remember those who sacrificed their lives in the service of our country.

Kim Dailey, of Columbia, is a wife, mother of five and special education teacher who relies on her faith and sense of humor to survive in this crazy world. In her free time she soaks it in, sorts it out and writes about life.