Lucy spent most of Memorial Day with her toothbrush (see illustration). Given my own past toothbrush experiences, I found this amusing. But what I really want to know is how everyone spent their Memorial day.
This year I was going to really memorialize--call my granpda (WWII vet), go to the cemetary down the street to visit Nick's grandparents with Lucy, and possibly even meditate on my feelings toward our current war and see if I could distill anything valuable.
Then the phone rang over the weekend and we made plans to go out to Dr. Sondrup's cabin (I worked for him as a grad student for those who don't know) to celebrate his birthday a bit and enjoy the afternoon. We had a great time (even the introverted among us seemed to enjoy themselves) with good food, beautiful weather, and late spring in the mountains. I really couldn't think of another place I'd like to be as I sat out on the deck with Nick and we watched the stream below us rushing intensly, overflowing with spring runoff. And yet, I still feel like I ought to have memorialized something, somehow. Maybe we'll go to the cemetary tonight before mutual with some mums (now that they're 1/2 off) ...
Did you do anything fun? Memorial? New? Have any good traditions to pass along? It's one of those holidays I need a bit of help on :)
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Memorial Memories
Posted by JennyW at 10:35 AM
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7 comments:
Monday was my son Jared's 4th birthday. We had banana pancakes for breakfast. We watched Scooby-Doo movies and played some computer games. We went to Gatti-Land (pizza and game place) for lunch.
We went up to Heather's sister's house in Killeen, which is about an hour north-west of us for dinner. Jared loves his cousins and so we left him there. We had a good time, though I have to admit, there was no memorializing--unless I can count watching the boys plan Lego Star Wars on their PS2. I did have a good walk alone with Kiya. Maybe that counts.
I think anything that involves banana pancakes sounds fabulous. And at least you were with family (that's memorializing at some level.)
I can't believe Jared is already four ...
I went to the beach in North Carolina with Jared (Gillins, not Randy's son) and a bunch of other people. I went to the lost colony Roanoke. The only thing left is a mound of dirt that was some sort of defense (no wonder they disappeared). I also went to Kitty Hawke and saw a lighthouse which is as famous as lighthouses can be. Jared and I shared a room like old times, but the conditions we were subjected to were a little different than Southridge. We had short twin beds (our feet dangled off the end) and we had a plastic lining underneath the sheets. The tap water smelled like the ocean, which led Jared and me to contemplate on wearing cologne that smells like the beach. I went to a party where someone released a stink bomb and a guy jumped off the second story balcony into a five foot deep pool (I swear I am not making this up). Most importantly, I played Frisbee on the beach with my new disk, which was Yar’s inaugural game.
Warren (and Jared, since you were there)--reading your comment made me want to move back east. The farthest east I've ever been is St. Paul, and that's really not that far east.
Actually, I think I'm just ready to move. Nick and I were talking the other day about how we're feeling "trunky" in our ward. Not that we don't like our ward, or our neighborhood, just that we've now been here two years, and that's longer than anywhere I've lived since I graduated from high school. But when I think about packing up my entire house, I change my mind ...
That's an interesting concept: moving for the sake of moving. I guess I understand the feeling of wanting something new and different. I kind of feel that way at this point in my life (eg: I won't want to stay in this job long, I won't want to stay in DC forever, I'd like to try living overseas for more than four months, etc.). But I figure that eventually I'll want stability, a home base. At what point will that kick in? I thought that maybe once I was married, had a kid, a dog, and a garden that I would want to be settled, but apparently that's not necessarily so.
As for Memorial Day ideas (for observance), in addition to relaxing, going to the beach, or whatever, I usually try to read the Gettysburg Address to remind myself who died and what they died for. I generally do that and take a few moments to reflect. I figure that doing that I probably do more than most Americans to observe. I'll often also watch a patriotic movie to add to the experience (The Majestic, The Longest Day, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, etc.).
-Jared
Jared--I like the Gettysburg address idea. It's thematically appropriate and yet flexible enough to fit into a day that often contains a bit of relaxation and vacation. My children will thank you in the future (or not, depending on how patriotic they feel about the whole thing :)
And yes, I thought I'd feel more "stable" by this point in my life as well, but I really don't. I think some of it is an issue of fit, however. Most people in our ward don't realize that we're really just old students, and that leads to some interesting situations at times (they assume we're settled, while we assume we're still in school, which we are, and thus that we will be "moving on" when we're done with school. I like our ward and I feel a bit guilty at times wanting to leave since they're having a fair amount of turnover (it's an older neighborhood not used to high volume turnover) and wondering what's "wrong" with them. Nothing's "wrong"--I just want to be closer to family. Or farther away from my "college" self. Or I don't know--I'm just ready for a change ...)
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