Memorial Day

Memorial Day. The official start of summer in the American imagination, and more importantly, the day set aside to honor the people who died in military service to this country.

Those aren’t the same thing — the barbecue and the remembrance — and I think we sometimes let one crowd out the other. Which is human and understandable. Grief is heavy, and a sunny May Monday wants to be light. Both things can coexist, though.

So today: enjoy the day. Be with people you love. Eat something good. Let the summer begin.

And at some point, take a quiet moment. Think about what it means to give something fully. To show up for something larger than yourself and not come back. The porch light that someone left on, waiting, for a person who couldn’t return to it.

We carry them forward in how we live. That’s the work of remembering.

We carry them forward in how we live. That’s the work of remembering.

How do you hold both the celebration and the remembrance of a day like today?