A three day weekend…we all love it!!!!!!

But don’t forget why we have this three day weekend. Today is Memorial Day. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868…over 140 years ago. Today we ALL need to pay respect, honor, and remember those who died defending us. Think about it, they died so we could have the life and opportunities we have today.

So, today as we remember those who gave up their lives so we could have ours, here is the question we need to ask ourselves. Would those who’ve died so we could live say it was all worthwhile if they were to be with you today, to see how you are living your life, to see how you are making a difference? They died so we could live, they left their families behind and many were just kids. Don’t let them down. Make them proud of what you do and the difference you are making in this life. Make the most of it because they gave their lives so we could!

So, when things aren’t going our way, when we are tired, and when the going gets tough, close your eyes and think of them. Ask yourself, what advice would they give me? Would they think it is so tough? Would they tell you to give up? Would they tell you to hit the snooze bar and stay in bed a little longer? Would they make excuses? Is that what they would have done? I don’t think so, what do you think? I’m sure they would gladly trade places with you!!

We owe them giving it our ABSOLUTE BEST!!

Commander Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret.) perhaps said it best in his poem:

No, Freedom Isn’t Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant “Amen,”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.”