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The first thing I think about on Memorial Day weekend or the day before, is my Father. He was in WWII and landed on the beaches of Normandy. He never talked about it. But through books, movies, veterans in documentaries, I don't know how he didn't suffer Post Traumatic Stress disorder. Or maybe all those vets did but it manifested in a different form.
Then my thoughts to go WWI and Grandfathers. And then my thoughts go to all the other fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, cousins that never returned home in the name of our freedoms...and in my private thoughts I honour them and I cry sometimes.
It was about 10 years ago that these became my thought rituals on this Remembrance weekend. But frankly, prior to that although I knew the weekend was to remember and be grateful, it was the day off work and the long weekend that took us to the lakes that gave meaning to this weekend. Swimming, BBQ, card games - chats and giggles...so much fun that those fallen soldiers never entered my mind.
But that's "OK", I've decided. Oddly, we had to wait for the BBQ until Dad got home from work. Work? No one works on Memorial Day! But at an oil refinery, if anything went off kilter, he showed up there like he showed up in Normandy. Once he got home, the celebration continued and he was happy to be a part of it - heck, he was the one that did the grilling!!!...
So here's to you Dad. Yes, I still think of all the fallen and I say a prayer for you, them and their families...and then I go on to finish out the weekend as you always supported - to be us. And because you laughed at my sense of humor and pushed my art desires, Cheers to You, Dad ~ from Elmo....and me.
xoxo
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