Memorial Day Weekend

It seems that the custom of family get-to-gathers, especially on holidays, is getting harder to maintain. The grand kids are so busy with soccer, baseball, scouts, practices of all kinds, sleepovers, and spending time with their friends . . . and my kids are so busy working, shuffling their kids around and taking care of household chores, it's difficult to find a time when everyone is available for a good old fashioned family get-to-gather.

This Memorial Day Weekend was one of those times when it was difficult to find a time when everyone was available. Steve (Dean's son) and his wife, Penny, both had to work all three days of the holiday weekend. Steve, of course, works in retail and Penny's research company had a booth at the American Royal where she spent the weekend working the booth. The grand kids had activities for most of the three days, but we did manage to squeeze in a dinner at John & Becky's late Sunday afternoon with all seven of their brood present.

John put steak and salmon on the grill. Becky prepared potatoes, vegetable, and salad. Carole supplied strawberry shortcake with whipped cream or ice cream for dessert. It was a great, although too infrequent, family get-to-gather. Next time I hope Steve & Penny will be able to join us.

We honored our fallen servicemen and veterans in true Memorial Day fashion. Over the weekend, we also visited the graves of Mark & Cindy as well as Jeri's memorial tree where we placed new American flags at each.