Memorial Weekend

As i have been pondering my next blog, several topics popped into my head...avoiding accidents, riding your first century, nutrition.  Then suddenly, memorial weekend was upon me.

This day represents so many things to so many people.

The foremost, is to remember those who've given their lives so that I can live mine in a free world.  And of course, the one i think of most, is my Dad.  Thoughts of him fling me back two years ago.

And now, it comes to my memorial day.  At every moment in the day, my thought was "two years ago,i was doing this, at this time...".  

To bring it home, at this time, two years ago, I was laying in a hospital bed, drugged out of my mind, broken.  The food for the cookout i had planned for weeks defrosting in the fridge, the snacks and beers and sodas set out for the moment when we arrived home to celebrate our first holiday weekend together.  But it didn't end the way I had planned that day when i woke up.

It was a day that would change my life forever. 

There are many men and women in the world, who are thinking something along those lines.  A big, traumatic event, has also changed their lives forever.  Some will eventually recovery, some already have, and some may never.

I remember instructing my boyfriend to not tell anyone, but my boss, what had happened. It was too much for me to process, and I knew I couldn't hold it together to tell them, either.  As bad as it was, it is still never as bad as those who've suffered far worse to protect this wonderful country, that we are so damn lucky to be born in.

My Dad was 3rd class, chief petty officer in the Navy during WWII.  He was a radio electronics genius before he even entered high school.  He was sequestered into a small r&D base in Oklahoma, solving radio drone problems on his first day of duty. 

If i had any superpower, I wish i could travel back in time, and just watch who he was back then. How excited he must have been, how scared and alone.  He told me that when he arrived on base, green and new, he noticed drone planes flying erratically.  He immiedatly pointed out the problem to his superior.  He rigged up a quick solution, redesigning the flaw out of hte system.  HE was barely in his 20s.

The man i knew, was seasoned by war, by life, by a batch of kids, deaths of those close to him, and yet, he never lost his sense of humor. Even up to the minute he passed, he was still cracking jokes.

Although this blog today was supposed to talk about My injury, and how i survived the day, it seemed that a tribute to my dad was what my hands and brain wanted to write.

While Star Trek is on Tv, which was his favorite show, i can't help but have a huge lump in my throat, and remember him on this day.

Dad, if you're out there.  I wanted you to know, that I'm Ok.  I am recovering. I am rebuilding, and fighting for what i love in this world, just like you taught me. But i am missing you more than I can breath at times.

So, while we remember those who's fought for us, gave us a better life, even those we've never met that have affected our lives, and while we remember our own pains and losses, maybe this day isn't just a day to raise a beer to those who've left us, but to celebrate those of us who've survived own traumas.  They would want us to.

Your matter. Your journey matters.  They gave us this chance to live, now live it, with everything you've got.

Clear, calm Skies