To many of us, Memorial Day is a day off from work, giving us a three day weekend to kick off the summer. We don’t stop to think about what this holiday is really about. If you get a chance, thank a veteran, or if anything, take a moment to stop and think about the men and women who have given their lives four our country so we can live our lives in freedom.

The history of Memorial Day:

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.[1] First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I.~Wikipedia

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860′s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee. ~ USMemorial Day.org

It’s party day and it’s going to be a great one! The sun is shining and the forecast is calling for temps in the mid-70s.

I had planned on sleeping in (6:00), but I left our bedroom window open last night and was woken up at 5:00 to the birds singing. I’m not complaining though as I think that sound should be all our alarms every morning. What a nice way to wake up…maybe there would be  a lot less crabby people in the world if that’s how they were woken up.

I was able to leave the window open since I was the only one controlling it last night. Mark volunteered to be a chaperon at the middle school lock-in last night. He left here around 9:00 and should be home sometime around 9:00 this morning. Actually he didn’t volunteer himself, he was coerced by a 13-year-old dog-mushing and log-rolling blonde who begged him “please Mark, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease. We need one more chaperon and if we can’t find one they are going to cancel it. Please, please, please, please, please…” Mark being the sucker for blondes that he is, of course said yes. Jess’s mom Julie was working the night shift and at 3:00 a.m.  posted on Facebook that the kids were having a blast and the adults looked more tired than the kids. He he. Something tells me Mark won’t be staying up ’til 4:00 a.m. around the bonfire tonight!

Something tells me there is going to be a lot of people walking around next week with a sunburn. The forecast for Memorial Weekend is calling for late-June temperatures on Saturday and only a chance of rain on Sunday night and Monday. I know I’ll be thanking Mother Nature for the beautiful weather for our party on Saturday and I’ll be outside enjoying it! The extended forecast from Wunderground:

Friday Night
Mostly clear. Lows 50 to 55. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

Saturday
Mostly sunny. Highs 77 to 82. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday Night
Mostly clear. Lows 48 to 53. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday
Mostly sunny. Highs 68 to 73.

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows 47 to 52.

Memorial Day
Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs 62 to 67.

Well, these days, that means staying up past 10:00. Mark took advantage of a short work-day by coming home and putting together the screen tent. He had most of the supports together by 5:30 when I rolled in and I only heard a few swear words while I was unloading my truck. Now all I have to do is get the hamburgers, brats, buns, beer, etc. etc. etc. and we’ll be ready for the fun. Come join us if you can, we’d love to see you!

Holy cow did the weather change in a hurry yesterday. I left the office around 4:40-ish to blue skies if you looked up the hill and fog in downtown Grand Marais and on the lake. On my way out of town, it would fluctate between sunny, fog, sunny, fog. As I drove around the big bend before West County Road 14, it got really foggy and really dark. As I kept traveling East it got darker and darker and darker, until it was almost as dark as it is when I came into town 12 hours before. The wind picked up for a couple of miles and by the time I got home, the skies were rumbling pretty good and it had started to rain. It seemed like the skies could open up at any second so I quickly got the dogs dinner soaking, gassed and fired up the generator…all before changing out of my sundress! (Yeah, I know, what a northwoods woman, huh?).

Sure enough it started to rain and when Mark pulled in 20 minutes later he suggested we feed now since it looked like it could only get worse. Of course it did rain and when we were done with chores, it stopped. Oh well, the cool rain felt good and when it was all done, the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees from where it was before it started. Ahhhh, now that’s more like May.