Week #350 – REMEMBER: Keep the “Memorial” in Memorial Day!

Greetings, All — and Happy Friday!!!

Can you believe it’s here?! Another Memorial Day Weekend — and a re-opening of epic proportions for most of the country!

It gives a whole new layer of meaning — and appreciation — of the word “freedom.”

This post has been an annual repeat — because it’s always a good reminder to keep the “Memorial” in Memorial Day!!!

As always, but especially this year, it’s important to remember the origins of this date and to honor those who gave their lives in service to this country.

Memorial Day, for certain, is a day set aside to remember those who died serving our country.  But before it was called “Memorial Day” — it was called “Decoration Day” because it was a day when families reunited at burial locations to “decorate” the graves of their fallen.  And because many people traveled very far to get there — they would relish the opportunity to visit and reconnect with relatives, usually accompanied by a pot-luck or picnic supper nearby.

Relish.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Especially this year, as many of us will spend time freely and comfortably with friends and relatives we haven’t seen in a very long time…seems our modern traditions of family reunions and barbecues are not really that far off.

It’s the REMEMBERING (and DECORATING) that we sometimes miss!

Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead: Keep the MEMORIAL in Memorial Day! Enjoy your family, the weather (nice or not), and the very real freedom we have (even if you still feel limited at this time) — just remember to REMEMBER!  This may mean simply raising a flag, bringing a note or flowers to a grave of one who lost his/her life in service, or writing a name in the sand for all to see.  You could make a donation, plant a tree, or lay a wreath at the base of a statue.  Even after the day is past, the flowers fade, or the ocean wipes the shore clean — you never know how long your tribute will stick to the walls of someone else’s memory!

How will you keep the MEMORIAL in Memorial Day?!

Spread Happyness — share your thoughts or ideas in the comments!

5/28/21 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com

Greetings, Everyone — and Happy Friday!

Seven years ago today my brother Rob (to whom this blog is dedicated) received what no one wants to hear: a prognosis.

Someone, based on years of training and expertise no doubt, rendered their best guess as to how long he might be able to survive what was happening to him.

They were wrong. Way wrong. And not in the right direction.

I keep this date on my calendar as a reminder that, indeed, our days are numbered.

MY days are numbered.

In my 20’s, I used to think in terms of ten year and five year goals. I used to make lists about what my 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s might look like.

And then I hit my 30’s, and I just started thinking about that next decade.

Today…I still dream. I still make plans. And I still have lots of lists…things to do, places to go, people to see, stuff to accomplish.

But one big thing has changed: I don’t count on it.

This may seem fatalistic but hear me out.

Life has thrown many of us for a loop this past year. And I don’t mean that in a general global pandemic way (although that’s very true). I mean it in a specific, hits-close-to-home, what my friend/mentor Kathi Lipp calls “The Pandemic-AND” kinda way:

The Pandemic-AND:

• job loss
• sudden move/change in housing
• loss of a friend/family/coworker (not necessary due to Covid)
• change in life goals/plans
• disruption of once-in-a-lifetime celebrations (proms, graduations, weddings, births)
• financial setbacks
• career setbacks
• health setbacks
• relationship setbacks

This past year has taught us not only how fragile we are as humans — but how futile our very best laid plans CAN be. (CAN be…not necessary WILL be.)

Does that mean we don’t plan? No.

Because there is significant research that supports the relationship between happiness and planning ahead.

I think what it means is that we plan anyway. Maybe we plan more carefully. We plan more wisely. We may even plan for contingencies.

But we plan anyway. Because planning gives us hope. And hope give us life!

So make your plans! Enjoy them! And if — alright, when — life throws you another curveball, you take your best shot.

Because planning to hit a curveball, is still a plan! 😉

Your Happyness Challenge for the Week Ahead is once again this quote from JoCheryl Holcombe: “So, when you think of those you love and it feels like you have forever, just remember you don’t, but then again, YOU DO! Make this life matter, our soul is the only thing we take with us when we are done…it’s worth tending, it’s worth making meaningful deep connections and living each moment in the fullest most meaningful way. BECAUSE everything can change in a holy instant “ (JoCheryl Holcombe via Facebook on 11/15/17 after losing several family members in a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, TX)

You can still see JoCheryl’s public message on FB here.

Spread Happyness — “Make voyages. Attempt them. There is nothing else!” (Tennessee Williams)

5/21/21 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com