Memorial Day – More Than A Three Day Weekend
Memorial Day is upon us, a lot of you will be hitting the highway to go camping, fishing or traveling to fri
ends’ homes. You might be planning a big get together with family and friends or just decorating the graves of loved ones. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stop for a moment and remember the reason we celebrate.
Did you know that all Americans are encouraged to pause for a minute of silence at 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day? That’s right, wherever you are during your festivities, please take a minute to honor and remember our country’s fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
No matter how bleak things look, I still believe we live in the greatest nation in the world. If you don’t feel the same, maybe you should reconsider your locale. I can say that because I live in the greatest nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Be Safe and Have a Happy Memorial Day!
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged camping, freedom, hiking, lives, Memorial Day, remember, Weekend by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
Spring and Family Collide
March is here! Yea! The wearing of the green, always brings me into a Spring 
mood. This year Easter is right on it’s heels, which makes decorating my house for Easter a short-lived experience. I love all those pastel eggs, bunnies, butterflies and happy things. No I don’t forget the reason for the season either.
It’s time to encourage the brown grass to bring up new green shoots. Daffodils, 
tulips, crocus all have their little green sprouts above ground checking for acceptable weather. Inevitably, they get snowed on at least once here in the Rocky Mountains, but they persevere anyway and put on a colorful show. I love Spring.
I’ve been planning our 2016 camping excursions since December, making those all important reservations at Steamboat Lake, Rocky 
Mountain National Park, Twin Lakes and many more. A trip to Lake Vallecito this year is exciting, especially to meet up with friends. However, last night I discovered that maybe, we’ll have to rearrange a few details this year.
A death in the family, and failure to keep in touch with cousins I was close with growing up gave me pause for thought. I received a letter and an obituary in the mail of a favorite uncle a few weeks after the fact. Why… because my cousin didn’t know how to contact me. She located my webpage, facebook page, but a death is something you don’t want to post on social media.
When I received the letter, I immediately looked her up online and located a phone number, made the call. After forty-five minutes of catching up, I was sad how much we’d missed after we grew up and life intervened. The reason for lack of communication is not always what you think. What a shame.
So… plans to return to my childhood stomping grounds may lessen the amount of time we spend in state and federal parks this year. Connecting with family and friends I haven’t seen in years, seems more important. To my credit, I always send a newsy Christmas Letter with pictures of where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing. That’s how my cousin knew my address. Life is unpredictable, what you assume will always be there when you are ready… can disappear in an instant.
I’m not one for genealogy, but connecting with family that helped make childhood memories so precious is something I wish I’d done sooner. But better late than never. I hope this acts as a reminder to pick up the phone, call someone you’ve put off too long connecting with, because… you never know. Sorry for the less than inspiring post this week.
Some good news. Copy edits are done on my next novel, A Witch’s Journey. A story about how meeting the right person can make all the difference in the world. No matter who or what your are. I await excitedly for a peek at the book’s cover, soon to come. I’ll share it of course.
Do you have people you wish you’d stayed in contact with? Look ‘em up, give ‘em a call. If only to say hi, how are you doing?
I love to hear from readers. Take a minute, write a comment. You’ll be glad you did, and so will I.
Next week I promise a happier topic as I discuss favorite camping haunts. Places to enjoy in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Also the challenge of gardening in a short growing season. Until then, make each day count!
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Posted in Food for Thought, My Say What Blog and tagged A Witch's Journey, camping, Colorado Rockies, family, flowers, remember, Spring, writing by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.
