Monday, May 28, 2012

A true Memorial Day

For a while now I have been feeling the need to instill a great deal of patriotism in my children.  After all, the Pledge of Allegiance is generally ignored in schools (not in Texas, but not everyone can live in Texas now, can they?), patriotic songs that include any mention of Deity are banned from school, and my kids don't even know all of the words to our National Anthem. 

I want them to feel how I feel about living in such a great country.  I still stand and sing during our National Anthem, very loudly, in fact.  Even if no one around me is singing.  And more often than not, I cry.

I still stand and cheer loudly at a parade when any member of the armed forces goes by.  And I even cry.  I feel so proud, and so much gratitude toward them. 

A huge part of this may be due to the fact that when I was young, we loaded up the camper and drove across the country, and stopped at every single Civil War or Revolutionary War battle ground, cemetery or memorial.  Some of those places had a lasting impact on me.  Some were so painfully boring as a child, I have forced them into the background of my distant past. 

So this Memorial Day, I decided that we needed to go see one of our country's great patriotic sites:  Springfield, Illinois.  Not a battle site, I know.  But it was the home to one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and they have a great museum dedicated to him, and to his fight to give freedom to all during the Civil War.

We drove down on Sunday after church, and stayed the night with our wonderful friends Mike and Charlotte, in Mahommet.  We love visiting them and catching up on each other's lives.  And our kids love getting to play together. Charlotte's sister Julie was also there, and it was so great to see her again.  I am so grateful for their friendship and hospitality.



Some of the kids in Abe Lincoln's kitchen in Springfield.

The crew, minus Yummers, at Abraham Lincoln's home

With the Lincoln Family at the Museum

1 comment:

The Yosts said...

I'm surprised they don't do the pledge there! That's very un-american!