Memorial Day

When I think of Memorial Day, I think of a backyard BBQ with friends and family on a sunny day with American flags waving. For me, it's a symbol of the first day of summer. But Memorial Day means a lot more than the start of the summer. It commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include casualties of any war or military action.

The weather forecast was iffy for today, and was rainy and windy all weekend long. We went to Costco yesterday, and on Saturday we had a movie marathon of "Cars," "The Little Mermaid," and "Shrek." We made popcorn and cuddled up on the couch as a family. Since we were unsure of today's weather, and apparently the meteorologists were too, we didn't plan anything outdoors. Last night I got the slow cooker prepped for today's lunch and made kalua pork. It's one of our favorite Hawaiian dishes, and thankfully I have a great recipe for it. All I'm missing is the Hawaiian BBQ Sauce from Dixie Grill though. Anyway, we enjoyed it and for a few minutes I felt like I was back home...I mean, Hawaii. The last time we had it was the day of the Super Bowl at Susan's house. Bob was out to sea so he missed it, but we had Hawaiian sweet rolls and the sauce from Dixie's. We had neither today, and didn't have Susan and Melissa's company, so it clearly was not the same. We ended up having a great day weather wise and played outside and did some laundry.

Bob's going to sea soon, so he's getting his sea bag packed and ready to go....kind of have that rushed feeling again. He's only been home two weeks and it flew by...hopefully the summer will too. After completing the almost seven month deployment last year, it makes this upcoming summer deployment sound like a piece of cake.
So as you in the U.S. are going to your BBQ's today (and me getting ready for bed since it's almost Tuesday), remember those that died serving our country which provides us all with the freedoms to live the way we do. Happy Memorial Day!