Create Your Personal Memorial Day…

This month, we celebrate a very important day in our country’s history. Memorial Day is the day we remember all the men and women who died serving our country. I grew up hearing it referred to as “Decoration Day” because that was the day my father and his Army buddies marched into the cemetery and fired off a 21-gun salute while the high school bugler performed a hesitant and solitary solo behind a distant headstone.

It was our history to mark the graves of all our loved ones with flowers on that last Monday in May, not just fallen soldiers. We remembered everyone who had fought for us…loved us…wanted the best for us…our family and friends who were our angels…whether it was with a potted plant from the Schmitz Nursery, with a bunch of lilacs from the bushes in the front yard, or dandelions picked from the side of the road.

Today, I’m suggesting that you choose a significant event in your life, a turning point, to remember as your Personal Memorial Day. Wander down memory lane for a half hour or an hour if you can. Be sure to have your journal handy to capture what comes up as you travel that road back to the old you… someone you used to be. What does she know now that she didn’t know then? What is she so grateful for? What is the decision she made at that turning point that has impacted the woman she is today? Where is that woman headed now? How has she influenced others by the decision she made on her Personal Memorial Day?

Don’t be surprised if you have more than one Personal Memorial Day. I have several…both times I received form letters about abnormal mammograms, moving across country twice because of the businesses suddenly closing their doors, the loss of my father and then my brother. I have had amazingly wonderful Personal Memorial Days…our wonderful daughter, meeting many fabulous friends, graduating from college at 34, becoming a NaNa, and stepping into leadership as a writer, a speaker and Soul Story Mentor.

Please hit reply and share your Personal Memorial Day with me. I’d love to hear…