Kids and Memorial Day
Tradition in a childs life is important because what mom and dad do is what they grow up to do with their own babies. Just like certain holidays we all recall the days of our own childhood where mom or dad cooked certain foods to feed the family to mark the occasion you should consider making your own family traditions that will be duplicated by your own children.
When I was small we celebrated Memorial Day by going out to the family burial plots. This entailed stopping at the local florist to pick up the cemetary boxes that Dad ordered ahead of time and his placing them in front of the graves of our Grand Parents. We would stand still and bow our heads in prayer and remembrance. We would all pack back into the station wagon and travel back home to a meal that Dad would serve up from the barbecue grill when it was fired by briquets of heavy charcoal that we had to hall to the back porch from the garage. Dad was a genious of a chef when it came to cooking on the grill. Anything he placed over those red hot coals turned into a meal where everyone asked for more.
All seven of his children grew up to be healthy adults and we all follow the practices of Mom and Dad at Memorial Day. I pack up the girls and head out to Lowes for the flowers and any last minute tools for the event and we do the cemetary shuffle so to speak. My Mom and Dad and Grand Parents are in a family plot so that is an easy stop. We plant a flower on my Grand Mothers sisters family graves. Then we venture off to Mom's family and where they are buried. Flowers get planted and the girls love it. The questions fly and the answers are some times easy and some times very hard. This is the time to teach your children what Memorial Day is about for them. Who their ancestors and family is. Where they came from is important to them and you will be amazed at how wise they are at any age.
If you get a chance and have a few extra flowers and you have the time show them a grave of a soldier that died that has no flowers. Let them know that everyone needs to be remembered. Plant a flower for a Veteran and you plant a seed of respect for those that they will never know.
When they ask you why they are planting a flower for them all you really have to say is that you are thankful for what they did so long ago so we could enjoy this day as an American family.
Build the memories of your children and you build a fortress that can never be torn down.
Enjoy your holiday and make the kids part of it...
Papamoka
When I was small we celebrated Memorial Day by going out to the family burial plots. This entailed stopping at the local florist to pick up the cemetary boxes that Dad ordered ahead of time and his placing them in front of the graves of our Grand Parents. We would stand still and bow our heads in prayer and remembrance. We would all pack back into the station wagon and travel back home to a meal that Dad would serve up from the barbecue grill when it was fired by briquets of heavy charcoal that we had to hall to the back porch from the garage. Dad was a genious of a chef when it came to cooking on the grill. Anything he placed over those red hot coals turned into a meal where everyone asked for more.
All seven of his children grew up to be healthy adults and we all follow the practices of Mom and Dad at Memorial Day. I pack up the girls and head out to Lowes for the flowers and any last minute tools for the event and we do the cemetary shuffle so to speak. My Mom and Dad and Grand Parents are in a family plot so that is an easy stop. We plant a flower on my Grand Mothers sisters family graves. Then we venture off to Mom's family and where they are buried. Flowers get planted and the girls love it. The questions fly and the answers are some times easy and some times very hard. This is the time to teach your children what Memorial Day is about for them. Who their ancestors and family is. Where they came from is important to them and you will be amazed at how wise they are at any age.
If you get a chance and have a few extra flowers and you have the time show them a grave of a soldier that died that has no flowers. Let them know that everyone needs to be remembered. Plant a flower for a Veteran and you plant a seed of respect for those that they will never know.
When they ask you why they are planting a flower for them all you really have to say is that you are thankful for what they did so long ago so we could enjoy this day as an American family.
Build the memories of your children and you build a fortress that can never be torn down.
Enjoy your holiday and make the kids part of it...
Papamoka
Labels: Barbecue, Children and Flowers, Dealing with Death, Death, Family Events, Gram, Grampa, Kids and Death, Memorial Day, Summer
posted by Papamoka at 6:54 PM
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