Memorial Day Weekend

Good day today....got up and went to get my hair done, made a cake, went to get diapers and formula, then met Kelly & Will and Mom & Dad for dinner at Carrabbas.

However...thinking tonight on this Memorial Day Weekend of my unbelievably amazing Grandaddy and his service to our country and what it means to me and to my own little family. What a privilege and a blessing in my life to have grown up with four truly AWESOME grandparents. I am 30 years old and am so blessed to still have three of those grandparents living close by. My precious Grandma passed away when I was 22 years old. I still miss her terribly and think of her all the time...how much she would have loved to have sat with my parents at our wedding, imagining the look on her face the moment she met her great-grandchildren, and how especially proud she would have been every time someone says they think Kate looks like my Dad.

Each year when Memorial Day rolls around, Grandaddy comes to mind along with the many stories and conversations through the years. When I was 13 years old Grandaddy took me to Fourmile, Kentucky, to visit his birthplace. A trip I have NEVER forgotten nor will I ever. We drove through the Cumberland Gap; saw the big Chain Rock which at one time was feared to crush the entire town of Pineville; rode past the entrance to Cudjo's Cave; found Grandaddy's old high school; rode through the town of Pineville; visited the old family cemetery; looked for the entrance to the mine that exploded and killed my great-grandfather, his father, when he was only 17 years old; visited with my great-aunt, Mabel (his sister); and even found some old friends of his (they still called him by his childhood nickname, "Buddy") still living "back up in the holler." At such a young age I probably didn't understand how special or meaningful of a trip it was for me, and for Grandaddy, for that matter. I am SO glad we went on that trip 17 years ago this summer.

My Grandaddy is one of the bravest, most intriguing men I know. Who else can I say that I know jumped out of a plane as a paratrooper with his fellow Green Berets some 1,132 logged times, knows what it feels like to be shot in the leg, can fly a plane, and probably will actually shed a tear while reading this?! T.O.U.G.H. And above all, he loves my Grandmama more than life itself and loves the Lord with all his heart. On this Memorial Day 2010, thank you Grandaddy, for your service to our country and to our family all these years. Thank you to all four of my Grandparents for the sleepovers, stories, and lessons learned. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of summers in the pool, New Year's Eve sleepovers, fishing on the pontoon boat at midnight with the basket of snacks, trips to Tennessee, caramel cakes, Christmases, Sunday lunches after church, conversations, and the list goes on and on and on and on. What a blessing to have such warm, wonderful memories to share with Kate.

Can't wait for Kate to make her own memories with her grandparents!

Also thinking this Memorial Day Weekend of another who fought defending our country in World War II. My dear friend Mr. Durward Wright who I met while working at Barney's passed away May 10. I will miss seeing his sweet, smiling face coming into the store. Thank you to all those who died or fought defending our freedom, including those who are fighting now. Happy Memorial Day Weekend.