Family is link to our past, bridge to our future.
Memorial Day - our gateway to summer. Today families will gather for food, fellowship and to celebrate freedom - freedom made possible by those who died serving our country.
My little history-loving guy - who's no longer so little - got to witness first hand his link to the past when he attended a 2008 ceremony honoring my great-uncle Theodore Walker, who was killed (along with his entire submarine crew) off the coast of Japan during World War II. Uncle Ted was only 23 when he left Midway Island in October 1944 for what would be his last patrol.
Each Memorial Day, we host a family gathering that includes delicious barbecue (this year it's ribs, cooked low and slow), lots of yummy sweets, and time on the deck with all the kids gathered around. My kids will tell you Memorial Day means school is out and the pool is open.
But today we will pause, to remember those who have served and gone before us...our link to the past...while teaching our children the importance of prayer and peace... Our bridge to the future.
Uncle Ted's mission on the Albacore is fictionalized in a children's book by my aunt, Louise Borden, who writes lovely books based on historical events, particularly WWII. The book is Across the Blue Pacific.
