Week 1.11 topic: Remember to remember

Subtopic 1: Mention a ribbon in your blog

Subtopic 2: Use the word “Memorial” in your blog

My Angel Baby

Sometimes it’s hard to remember, but we can all Remember to Remember. In life, it’s dealing with the hard things that make us grow, hopefully in the right direction. Often, it’s easier to ignore those, but, if we’re going to move through life, we need to be able to get through the mental & emotional ruts or we won’t get anywhere. Ribbons can help us remember different things, from awareness to special events, though I often wonder if I put too much into things that are trivial, then again, often it’s the little things in life that make the biggest impact.

I know Memorial Day is to honor those who served that have passed on. Yet I always feel like there ought to be a little bit more since, in the case of my grandfather, he was given the choice as a husband & new dad so he chose to support the war efforts by working 2 full-time jobs, one at the family business & the other in a factory to make necessary things to support the troops. My father-in-law, who was legally blind, wasn’t eligible to join the military, he too, worked in the factory to support the war efforts. To me, that should count for something?

In remembering various family members & relatives, including those who served IN the military, there are others I remember, like my angel baby, and my 1st born, Chuck. I had a sickly pregnancy and didn’t know or understand what was going on. My mother, an RN, came to a couple of appointments but normally would just sit there or parrot what I said. When I lost baby Chuck , a very wanted child, my sister made it all about her. It wasn’t easy for me to be going through that, especially when other people behaved as if they’re the ones who lost theirs in a bigger way, when this one was mine (I nearly bled to death myself, due to complications). A week later, my mother sat across from me and told me she KNEW that with my symptoms, that it was a great possibility that one or both of us could have died. When I asked why she didn’t say anything to my OB/GYN, she said she didn’t want to question the authority of the doctor. It still makes me wonder, 23 years later, if he could have been alive, had I had an appropriate advocate…

So, yes, for me, Memorial Day is more than remembering my relatives who served in the military.

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