Decoration Day

Memorial day has special memories for me. In the midwest where I grew up, it was known as Decoration Day. We would go to the graves of close family members who had passed away and deliver fresh bouquets of flowers--mostly lilacs and roses from the yard. For us, it was my brother's grave, and a couple of cousins who had also died as children. It was hard as a child myself to go to the grave of another child. But I knew it was important to my parents, so I went willingly. Now my parents are buried next to my brother, Jackie, and I don't miss an opportunity to visit their graves with flowers. Now, however, I use the long lasting silks that are available--they are beautiful and other than slight fading, they stay nice for several months.
Other memories of the day are more upbeat--as the first holiday of summer, it meant just one thing!! Picnic in the park!! My mom would spend hours making homemade potato salad, (mashed), orange jello with grated carrots and pineapple, baked beans, fried chicken, pickled beets, and cake for dessert--sometimes even strawberry shortcake! All from scratch!! My Auntie Faye, Uncle Jess and cousin Sandy would meet us in the park with even more food! We kids would play for hours on the swings and slides in the park--and then eat this amazing meal--at the time not really appreciating it's goodness!! Now, when I attempt to duplicate even part of this meal, I am reminded of the time cooking from scratch takes. Just this Memorial Day, I made my mom's famous mashed potato salad--it took about 3 hours!! The baked beans go together quickly--thanks to Van Camps Pork and Beans--is there any other way to make baked beans? And fried chicken--forget it!! If I want fried chicken, it's KFC to the rescue. This year, Mark grilled some delicious chicken on his grill!! And once again, we ate an amazing meal--surrounded by the laughter of small children as they played the day away!