A Place for Peter: Celebrating Memorial Day

It's apart of my very fabric, the start of the summer season, the first time we, as kids, were allowed to swim in the farm pond and the Vincentown Memorial Day parade. Surrounded by family and friends, grilling hot dogs, playing baseball. Traditional Memorial Day is May 31, but it is celebrated every year on the last Monday of the month of May. It's a time when we honor the men and women in the armed services that gave their lives in service for their country. I still get choked up when the older Veterans who are driven first through the parade route. It is right and fitting that they should be honored first.

Thank you for your Service

As a kid, I could hardly sleep prior to parade day. Not only did we do a mad dash to a store to get a new bathing suit because last year's didn't fit, but we got to be in the parade. Our parents would decorate our bikes with red/white and blue streamers, small American flags and a good wash job so that we could join our friends as participants in this annual event. I owned a horse, so for a few years I got to ride her. Man, was that a sleep snatcher! I could hardly sleep just thinking about showing up the next morning on my beautiful horse Cinnamon and waving to the crowds lining the route. And, all my family was there, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, Grandparents, you name it they were there.

It is the night before the parade and as Thom, the boys and I walked through our neighborhood, Eliot would run ahead and say, "Look, an American flag! I'm American, I'm American." Both of our sons went to bed without even watching their nightly show of Sesame Street! They needed their rest for the big parade. The parade in our area alternates years between a neighboring town and our town. This year it is in the neighboring town. We drive down the road a bit and park the car. We all pile out with our chairs and find the perfect spot. Our parades consist of local officials, fire companies, horses, marching bands, local library groups, decorated bikes and of course the honored Veterans. Most of the time, and this is my boys favorite part, the parade participants throw candy out to the boys. They join in the din a youngsters dashing and darting into the street to grab the sweet treats. Oh, it is so much fun. After lunch and much needed refreshment we will trek out to our local swimming pool, and freeze in the water for our first swim of the season. To conclude is the classic American bar-b-q of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, games and maybe even some fireworks.

I am truly grateful for these brave heroes that laid their lives down for us so that we could sit, unafraid and enjoy the freedom of gathering together as a community to celebrate liberty. Our boys have been welcomed into our country through adoption and are now American citizens. This country's history is now the redemptive part of their life history. There is a marked time in their history where they can look and see acceptance, belonging, worth. God bless America, my home sweet home!

Here are some snapshots from this year's parade festivities!