firsts

Perhaps it's because it's the unofficial beginning of summer, maybe it's because it has such a perfect aura of leisureliness, or it might be simply because I love honoring the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom, but I've always loved Memorial Day.

This Memorial Day was one of firsts. It was the first time we went to a ceremony at a local cemetery with Jeremiah's Boy Scout troop, as well as hundreds of other scouts. The thousands of flags scattered about snapped crisply in the strong wind, a wind which made me regret wearing a dress. Even though the sun beat down on my head and I could feel my skin beginning to turn red, I was so proud to be an American.

It was the first time of the year that we had a barbecue in the backyard. Complete with vegetables roasted on the grill and watermelon cut into wedges, the sweet juice of the succulent fruit ran down chins.

Sighing contentedly while watching the sky fade from pink to navy blue, it was the epitome of a summer night.

It was the first time my dad and I slipped out of the house into the soft early morning air to play a game of tennis. No photographs of that – I'm not exactly known for my prowess in sports – but I loved the time I got to spend with my father in the precious before-breakfast hours, where the sky was streaked with vivid colors of the dawn. Watching the world waking up while smacking tennis balls with my racket, a satisfying thud emitting each time, it was the perfect way to start the day.

And on the way home we spied a small field bursting with purple flowers, gently swaying in the breeze. It was an unexpected patch of wild pulchritude in the midst of a neighborhood filled with brick and stone.

It was the first time of the year that we went swimming. After the initial tingling shock of cold, the swim was refreshing and indicated, at least in my mind, that summer is officially here.

I relished in the soft splashes and giggles that are inevitable while at a pool while on a lounge chair, wrapped up in a book.

It was a Memorial Day of firsts, but a Memorial Day that was so sweet. A Memorial Day that made me proud to be a citizen of America, a citizen of the land of the free and the home of the brave.

How was your Memorial Day?

-carlotta

P.S. Thank you for your input on my watermark – I've decided to keep it, but I've made it smaller and subtler.