Happy Memorial Day! It is amazingly windy today, I hope the weather is wonderful where you are. So many people take today to get together with family and friends and grill out! It is after all a day off work. I, on the other hand, have every day "off", or maybe more appropriately, I never get a day off. I guess it's all in the perspective of how you view a stay at home mother. I spent the day playing with the kids, enjoying every minute, however in the back of my head I was cursing the Dr, library and diaper service for not being there today when I needed to call (I'm one of those "I have to address issues immediately or they pile up on the back burner" type people). Part of the day I spent attempting to do homework and fielding phone calls for organizational components of a massive healing energy operation we have going on for a friend of mine. And the last part of the day was spent at my sisters house for an impromptu taco night. Let's just say there was no rest for me this Memorial Day, and I'm fine with that.
My husband has been in the military for ten years now. We are on his second deployment and I miss him greatly. He did not get the day off either, nor did any of the thousands of troops overseas defending our freedoms. It is because of his sacrifice I was given the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. Because of his sacrifice I am able to take a year and earn my Masters degree. It is because of his sacrifice that I love him more and more every day. For him to give up the freedom of days off, the freedom to be with his family daily, the freedom to grill in his backyard with family and friends; he has given all of this up for his country and all of the people in it. My husband does an amazing job and I love him beyond words. This Memorial Day I celebrated the many freedoms I have that my husband made possible. Not just my husband, but every soldier out there past and present.
Thank you for your service. It is greatly appreciated!
~Ava
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
How Will I Celebrate St. Patricks Day?
I have never been much of a holiday celebrator, I'm also am not much of a drinker. For those who know me, unless I'm expecting pictures to be taken, I rarely do much in the way of fashion and I've never eaten corned beef and cabbage. Why on Earth would I find this holiday important enough to write about? Well, it's because it's a holiday I have split feelings about.
This holiday is celebrated by millions of people, mainly for the good food, beverage and friends; but I would guess that not many people know exactly what this holiday is about, other than celebrating St. Patrick. Any holiday that starts with Saint, is going to be a Catholic holiday. Right there, that shows it's not in my realm of holidays, however I do celebrate a lot of holidays that aren't in my religion, such as I celebrate both November Eve and Halloween (same day, different holiday). I also celebrate Christmas for the family gathering, and Winter Solstice for my religious celebration. I'm okay with pulling from different traditions, I just want to know what they are all about first.
As I mentioned, St. Patricks day is a religious holiday, believe it or not. It celebrates the day St. Patrick died, not because he was bad, but because people wanted to remember him. I did a bit of research to see if my "common" knowledge on the subject was an accurate depiction of St Patrick, and it was. St Patrick was best known for returning to Ireland with a duel mission, both to teach the Christians who were already there and to convert the Pagans. This is where my indifference with the holiday begins to wane. I have never believed in converting people to any religion, no matter how long ago it happened. We are losing a lot of powerfully spiritual minority religions through the practice of converting others, and this is a practice I have a hard time finding a reason to celebrate.***
I hate to be a downer and refuse to celebrate a holiday that so many do for commercialized reasons; bringing the truth out just stops people for a moment then they return to their beer and laughs. I want to find a reason to celebrate this holiday, while feeling as though I'm addressing the issue I have against the holiday. As I've learned through social psychology, this is my attempt to work through the cognitive dissonance of the situation. I want to celebrate something I find appalling to celebrate. This is my answer to this conundrum.
While I typically take no part in the festivities of this particular holiday, I'm not saying I never will; this is the commercialized part of the holiday I have no issues with. The celebratory part I will add for religious purposes is to design a ritual promoting the diversity among religions and the harmony that can be created between them. Celebrating that which has been knocked down in the past is an appropriate way I feel I can add meaning to what appears to be a demeaning holiday.
***information regarding the origins of this holiday obtained from history.com: http://www.history.com/topics/who-was-saint-patrick
This holiday is celebrated by millions of people, mainly for the good food, beverage and friends; but I would guess that not many people know exactly what this holiday is about, other than celebrating St. Patrick. Any holiday that starts with Saint, is going to be a Catholic holiday. Right there, that shows it's not in my realm of holidays, however I do celebrate a lot of holidays that aren't in my religion, such as I celebrate both November Eve and Halloween (same day, different holiday). I also celebrate Christmas for the family gathering, and Winter Solstice for my religious celebration. I'm okay with pulling from different traditions, I just want to know what they are all about first.
As I mentioned, St. Patricks day is a religious holiday, believe it or not. It celebrates the day St. Patrick died, not because he was bad, but because people wanted to remember him. I did a bit of research to see if my "common" knowledge on the subject was an accurate depiction of St Patrick, and it was. St Patrick was best known for returning to Ireland with a duel mission, both to teach the Christians who were already there and to convert the Pagans. This is where my indifference with the holiday begins to wane. I have never believed in converting people to any religion, no matter how long ago it happened. We are losing a lot of powerfully spiritual minority religions through the practice of converting others, and this is a practice I have a hard time finding a reason to celebrate.***
I hate to be a downer and refuse to celebrate a holiday that so many do for commercialized reasons; bringing the truth out just stops people for a moment then they return to their beer and laughs. I want to find a reason to celebrate this holiday, while feeling as though I'm addressing the issue I have against the holiday. As I've learned through social psychology, this is my attempt to work through the cognitive dissonance of the situation. I want to celebrate something I find appalling to celebrate. This is my answer to this conundrum.
While I typically take no part in the festivities of this particular holiday, I'm not saying I never will; this is the commercialized part of the holiday I have no issues with. The celebratory part I will add for religious purposes is to design a ritual promoting the diversity among religions and the harmony that can be created between them. Celebrating that which has been knocked down in the past is an appropriate way I feel I can add meaning to what appears to be a demeaning holiday.
***information regarding the origins of this holiday obtained from history.com: http://www.history.com/topics/who-was-saint-patrick
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