There is a special kind of joy that lives inside a cookout that cannot be explained to someone who hasn’t felt it. It hits the moment you pull up and hear that music before you even get out the car. Welcome to Memorial Day weekend, baby! By the time you make it to the backyard, somebody’s grandma is already posted up in her lawn chair like a queen holding court, the kids are running wild through somebody’s sprinkler, and the grill is going.
And the food? Listen. The baked beans have been in a slow cooker since yesterday. There are ribs, chicken, and burgers, all cooking at the same time, because we do not believe in running out of food. Grandma’s deviled eggs disappeared before the rest of the food was anywhere near being done. Then, there is ice cold sweet tea to wash it all down.
But in between the plates and the laughs and the Spades game getting a little too competitive on the patio, there is something deeper happening. Memorial Day is about honoring the ones who didn’t come home. That includes the soldiers who fought for a country that wasn’t always fighting for them, whose valor was real even when their recognition was delayed. We carry them with us. We say their names at the table, even if it’s just in the quiet moment before someone says grace.
That’s the thing about how we celebrate… the joy and the remembrance are not separate. They live in the same space, the same afternoon, the same plate of food.
So, this Memorial Day, get the grill going. Make your folks plates before they even ask. Let the little ones stay up past their bedtime and take one good long moment to feel grateful. Grateful for the people around you, and for the ones who paved the way to get you there.
Happy Memorial Day
