Sunday, May 26, 2013

What Memorial Day Means to Me

A couple of months back, a young friend of mine asked me to answer a question for one of her school projects. The question was "What does the American Dream mean to you"? As I struggled to fully answer her question, I remembered a quote from the revolutionary patriot Thomas Paine that has always struck me as very profound. It was affecting to me as a college student when I first heard it, and it carries increasingly more weight with continued life experience. In trying to incite the common man to take up the cross of liberty and defiance against the English before the Revolutionary War, he said "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only that gives everything it's value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon it's goods; and it would be strange indeed if such a celestial article of freedom should not be highly rated". Think about that for a moment. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. If it doesn't come at a cost, we don't truly appreciate it's value....and, if anything deserves to be valued, it is freedom.

You had better believe that my freedom is valuable to me. I PAID for that freedom. I paid for my freedom with the most valuable possession I had, my best friend and father of my child.  I paid for my freedom with tears. There were the tears that fell as I watched my husband kiss our baby, quickly hug me, and then load onto a bus, headed for a country that I couldn't even imagine if I tried. Those tears awakened in me a sense of longing. There were the tears that fell as I sat across from two men in army uniform, as they informed me that he was never coming home. Those tears numbed me to the core. There were the tears that fell as I lay in bed that night, and felt the loneliness wash over me like a tidal wave so heavy that I thought I was doomed to be crushed. Those tears cut into me like a hot knife. There were the tears that fell as I sat in the shower after the funeral, tears that would not stop because it had taken a monumental feat to hold them in for an entire day. Those tears pushed me towards the very edge. There were the tears that fell as I stood hand in hand with a good friend whose husband had died with mine, as we forced ourselves to attend each and every memorial service for the soldiers from our husbands unit who died after they did. Those tears began to heal my heart. There are the tears that fall each and every time I stand to sing a patriotic song. "Oh, beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife. Who more themselves their country loved, and mercy more than life". Those tears make me feel proud.

So, what does Memorial Day mean to me? I will tell you what it does not mean. It does not mean a carefree day off of work, a light-hearted barbecue, a killer sale on mattresses, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, or a trip to the lake to water ski. It does mean that a whole lot of somebodies paid for my freedom, and one of those somebodies was pretty darn important.

6 comments:

  1. I love that quote by Thomas Paine, too. He is one of my favorite writers. And he was self-taught, another reason I like him. Great post. You are in our thoughts this Memorial Day. Memorial day is a sacred holiday to my family. Growing up, it was always a day to remember and be grateful and visit the cemetery to pay respect. Now that we live out of state, we pay a visit to the Veterans memorial.

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  2. Cory and you are in my thoughts today. I've shed a few tears myself rembering him and others today. I'm very greatful for the sacrifice paid by him and so many people to have the freedoms we have. (((Hugs)))

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  3. We think of Cory and you all the time, but more so on this sacred day or remembrance. Clover Park High School has an amazing visual reminder of those, like Cory, you, and Reagan, who paid the ultimate price. We miss him like crazy, and wish things were different too. Brooke, you are an elect lady who has taught me to keep on going on, even during difficult times, and to love even more. Thanks for the profound writing on this day. We love you.

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  4. What a great quote and wonderful illustration of its application. Thank you for writing and sharing this. Memorial Day has become more important to me since Cory was killed. We talked about him and other soldiers this morning as we raised our flag and, with our hands over our hearts, pledged our allegiance. I'm grateful for our freedom and aware (to some extent) of its price.

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  5. I'm grateful you posted this, Brooke. You are in my prayers and I think of Cory often. Thank you for being an amazing woman!

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  6. Brooke, thank you for sharing so well these feelings. You are so amazing and I am grateful that I got to know you for the short while we served in Young Women's. As you toot around the corner and i see you whip by, I feel great love for a person who has endured much and come out the victor with a family to share it with. love you, Susan

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