Pre-Memorial Day

Blackfive wrote a beautiful post about how to approach memorial day. I strongly encourage you to wander over and read it. For me, the highlight wasn't the new information, although I was moved by the account of the three friends Matt lost, but the post crystallizes everything that Memorial Day is about.

I don't forget that my birth is by God's grace and soldiers' sacrifice. Both my grandfathers fought in WWII, and both were wounded before my parents were born. Who distracted the anti-aircraft man for that split second that made the difference between arm and heart? Who took down the Japanese soldier who would have had better aim, or who got in the way of that bullet? If by some miracle I find out, I'd like to buy you or your descendants a drink.

It's tempting to make Memorial Day all about those who died. But those sacrifices are all the more poignant because of those who lived. Matt's right; sometimes the best way to honor the fallen is not with tears, but with laughter.