1.) I had been flying all day.
2.) These holidays suck the life out of me. I just didn't have the energy to write anything.
On that note, I have a few things to say about yesterday.
I have a lot of Military people on my Facebook, which is awesome, but when military holidays come around it can be overwhelming. My newsfeed was flooded in red, white, and blue, names of fallen, and pictures of headstones. Everytime I looked at it it took everything in me not to cry. Still, it makes me happy that people, most people, remember and know what the holiday is actually for.
Now, there is something that disturbed me a little and, really, has since last year. It seems to me that some people don't fully understand what Memorial Day is.
I started realizing last year when my friends and I went out and the place we went to was raising money for Wounded Warrior Project in honor of Memorial Day...
Does anyone else see the problem with this?
Lord knows I love all veterans, especially those who are wounded, but why would they be raising money for WWP on Memorial Day?
Also, I noticed a lot of people thanking veterans for their service yesterday, which should be done every day, really, but Memorial Day isn't really for them. If you are wanting to go out of your way to thank someone, maybe rethink who you should be thanking. (Don't shoot me, just saying...)
For anyone who is unaware, Memorial Day is not for all veterans. That is what Veterans Day is for. Memorial Day is for those who have lost their lives. So when thanking people on Memorial Day, thank a widow, or a mother or father whose child died, or tell a veteran that you are thinking of their fallen friends. Go to Arlington and lay flowers on the graves. Raise money for TAPS or AWP - organizations who help the families of the fallen. Remember the fallen that day, because the day is theirs. Please don't take it away from them.
I must throw this out there, too (I apologize ahead of time for a little rant.) There is nothing "happy" about the day, so to say "Happy Memorial Day!!" on your Facebook page is pretty offensive to the families. Sure it's a little touchy of us, but put yourself in our shoes. We don't expect you to say something spectacular about every man and woman who died, but to treat it as a fun holiday like Christmas or Halloween is just bothersome. While everyone else is saying, "HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! HAPPY TO BE OFF WORK! HEADED TO THE BEACH!", we are holding back tears, flipping through pictures, and remembering our loved ones who were ripped away from us.This is a day of remembering and mourning for those of us who lost everything. Of course we go out and celebrate their lives, but to put a "Happy" in front of the day is inappropriate.
I say all of this not to be mean or offend anyone. I say it in hopes that people will be a little more sensitive to what the day really means for some. I also say it to make sure people know what Memorial Day stands for because it's important and, frankly, it's been annoying the crap out of me and the other widows. Don't downplay the day or take it away from those it is supposed to honor.
-Jimmy C. Kinsey II -
Born: June 27, 1984
Wounded in Ramadi, Iraq: April 1, 2006
Died: April 20, 2010
He was such a nerd. I miss that so much.
















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