And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. - Malachi 4:6
Unfortunately the hearts of the children have not yet been turned to the fathers in Denver. Since I can't be home this holiday weekend I took a drive through the oldest and largest cemetery in Denver. I'm shocked at the lack of flowers decorating the graves of loved ones. Only about 10% of the graves had flowers to indicate that they were remembered, and grocery stores do not have plats of mums on sale. I've always loved cemeteries. They feel like sacred places to me, full of stories. I considered continuing my family's Cache Valley tradition of adopting a forgotten grave and making sure that it is decorated each year, but with tens of thousands of lonely headstones on memorial weekend it seems futile.
Thankfully the veterans are remembered with flags, but no flowers from the families they were torn from. For those of you in Utah, where Memorial Day is marked with trips to multiple cemeteries dripping with flowers and visiting families, be grateful that you live in a place where people still care about their heritage. And I am thankful that even though I can't be home, I have family who will remember all those who have come before.
