Busy busy week - new job, revision deadline, final edits on Nov 1 book, life in general. Many thoughts, no time or energy to get them all down. They all pile up and get in a tangle, it seems like every one of them is exactly the same amount of urgent, they all seem so important and I tell myself that writing is my calling, and through it and my work and family, I serve others - write that book, do that edit, answer that phone, start that new idea, read up on this, clean that, feed those oh and don't forget to exercise, eat right, get enough sleep and tend to your blog!
It all had me looking forward to the 'long weekend'. Only now in the middle of that weekend I can't help thinking that it's not a 'long weekend' any more than Thanksgiving is just a 'lazy Thursday'. Memorial Day was set aside to remember those who have lost their lives in the service of their country... and we now include all who have served and all who currently serve. They are so deserving. Not just of our remembering but of our support and of our time. Writers especially should be thankful because without the freedoms our military protects, our voices might well be silenced.
So today, as we do every year, my husband and I will go to Zachary Taylor National Cemetery and stand at the grave of his father, Clyde Jones, and give thanks for his service and in my heart I will be paying respect to my own father, Alpha Shorter, for his service. I will set aside all my so called urgent needs to contemplate and give gratitude for all the members of my family who have served in the military, and all those families who have served in our own way as our loved one's service puts them in harm's way and us in a lifestyle that not all people appreciate or understand.
Today, I will stop and pray for all those who, when they hear the call - who will keep our country strong and free? Answer, I will. And I will be grateful.
