Memorial Day Weekend
Is it really truly already Wednesday? This week is going so fast, it's like a pretend week. Before it's done and gone, here's a quick report on our busy, happy weekend.
Friday night was a Father and Daughter Campout. Ben and Maude and Olive drove about an hour North to a lovely little campground at Whaley Lake. Betty will be old enough to join them next year. Campfire, s'mores, tents and canoes. A good time was had by all.
On Saturday, we met Ben and the girls at Benton Brook Farm. Twice a year the Darger Family (Benton Brook's proprietors) hosts pretty much everyone they know at their incredible farm in Massachusetts. It's an all day event with games and food and dancing and loveliness. This year, they added a charming little green tractor which spent hour after hour circling the farm and offering rides to the wee ones. A great day!
The great picture of Oscar at the farm was taken by Laura B. Speaking of Laura, my family didn't do anything formal to mark Memorial Day this year, but I loved reading about what Laura B did with her family.
Growing up, her family would spend this holiday bringing flowers to the graves of loved ones — not necessarily military people — just anyone they wanted to remember. Laura lives far from home now but wanted to give her children some of the same feelings she had on Memorial Day. The solution? Her husband looked up the gravesites of all sorts of famous people buried in the driveable New York area and they spent the day wandering through four different graveyards and leaving flowers in their wake.
Just a few of the graves they visited: Herman Melville, Miles Davis, Joseph Pulitzer, Rachmaninoff, Babe Ruth and Duke Ellington.
Wasn't that a fantastic idea? What a great excuse to get to know some out-of-the-way places. I fully intend to copy this idea next May — if I can wait that long.
Friday night was a Father and Daughter Campout. Ben and Maude and Olive drove about an hour North to a lovely little campground at Whaley Lake. Betty will be old enough to join them next year. Campfire, s'mores, tents and canoes. A good time was had by all.
On Saturday, we met Ben and the girls at Benton Brook Farm. Twice a year the Darger Family (Benton Brook's proprietors) hosts pretty much everyone they know at their incredible farm in Massachusetts. It's an all day event with games and food and dancing and loveliness. This year, they added a charming little green tractor which spent hour after hour circling the farm and offering rides to the wee ones. A great day!
The great picture of Oscar at the farm was taken by Laura B. Speaking of Laura, my family didn't do anything formal to mark Memorial Day this year, but I loved reading about what Laura B did with her family.
Growing up, her family would spend this holiday bringing flowers to the graves of loved ones — not necessarily military people — just anyone they wanted to remember. Laura lives far from home now but wanted to give her children some of the same feelings she had on Memorial Day. The solution? Her husband looked up the gravesites of all sorts of famous people buried in the driveable New York area and they spent the day wandering through four different graveyards and leaving flowers in their wake.
Just a few of the graves they visited: Herman Melville, Miles Davis, Joseph Pulitzer, Rachmaninoff, Babe Ruth and Duke Ellington.
Wasn't that a fantastic idea? What a great excuse to get to know some out-of-the-way places. I fully intend to copy this idea next May — if I can wait that long.
Labels: kids
posted by Gabrielle of Design Mom at Wednesday, May 28, 2008
12 Comments:
I gotta move back there!
Wonderful wonderful idea!!
how sweet...we like to find graves that have been forgotten on Memorial Day and leave a flower on their headstones. That farm activity sounds like a blast. He had a weekend of rain rain rain!
Love that picture of Oscar.
so many of my fond childhood memories are wrapped up in skiing on whaley lake and camp liahona! I am so glad a new generation will have similar happy times there. it's a magical place to me. tell me they stopped at red rooster on the way home for ice cream!?!? Sue could always be talked into an ice cream cone.
love the headstone idea. I'd be interesting to do that in LA with old hollywood stars...
Not a bad idea, but as an army wife I find it a little wrong, almost sick. Memorial Day is for remembering fallen soldiers, period, not famous people who more then likely died of old age. You can do that with your kids the other 364 days of the year. Memorial day is special and we should NEVER distract from that. Take it from someone who's heard Taps and 21 gun salutes a few too many times and honor our fallen heros.
Heather
I've gotta agree with the above post by Household6...
What I find most interesting/insulting is the sentence, "What a great excuse to get to know some out-of-the-way places."
YIKES.
Since when did a day set aside to honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifce for our country become an "excuse" to do anything?
Not a lesson I would go out of my way to teach my children!
As an alternative, why don't you look up the graves of service members who have fallen in the line of duty and pay them their due respect on this day? There are plenty to choose from, including some dear friends of mine. Try Arlington cemetary if you don't know where to start. There are more than 275,000 people who have given their lives buried there.
And, while you're at it, teach your family the difference between Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and a roadtrip.
I too love that idea and I too might commit a bit of plagiarism.
So sorry but...one more thing. If someone has something derogatory to say they shouldn't do it anonymously. How can one respond to an anonymous comment?
At first I thought, "What a great way to celebrate Memorial Day since we're so far from extended family members' graves" but then after reading the comments, I feel quite sobered and realize how far we Americans (myself definitely included) have drifted from the real reason for Memorial Day. A small flag and a bunch of flowers every year can't even come close to thanking these heros for their sacrifice. I plan to do much better next year in teaching my children what we are remembering on Memorial Day and that it is so much more than a day off school and "excuse" for a barbeque. Also, I found this great site that gives the history of Memorial Day: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
Oh man, wish I could pay respects to Davis and Duke.
I agree that we should teach our kids what Memorial Day is all about.
But I find very little harm, in fact I find it a wonderful idea, to use the holiday to help children gain an appreciation for those who came before and influenced our life for the better: whether it is fallen soldiers of the Civil War (or other wars), our direct ancestors, or artists or musician who have added richness and meaning to our lives.
Maybe what this family did isn't a literal way of honoring the holiday, but it seems much more in spirit with the holiday then what is means for most: having a barbecue, going boating or watching a ball game.
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