“What’s happening this weekend?” Freddie asked me, apropos of nothing. We were sitting on the couch, him cuddled up next to me while I read.
“Huh?” was my intelligent reply.
“You said earlier that you were looking forward to this weekend.” His voice dropped to a whisper, “are people coming over?”
“No, though I suppose they could. It’s Memorial Day weekend.” He just stared at me. “It’s a national holiday meant to remember soldiers who died while serving. It’s a solemn occasion, generally.”
“...but you are looking forward to it?”
“Well...it’s also the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend for a lot of people. There will be a lot of get togethers.”
“So it’s meant to honor the dead.”
“Yes.”
“With parties…?”
“I mean, yes and no.”
He studied me for a minute. “Humans are so weird,” he said.
You know how this works, but as always, a gentle reminder:
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“Monday is officially Memorial Day,” I told him. “People will go to cemeteries and to parades or even just get together with loved ones and remember the people in their lives who died while serving. Men and women join the military for all kinds of reasons, but all of them are putting themselves at risk in order to serve their country. It’s important to honor them, and to especially honor those who lost their lives.”
“It’s also the first long weekend that many people get right at the start of summer. So some people use it as a way to welcome the warm season.”
“How?”
“Barbecue, mostly.”
“I like barbecue,” he told me.
I grinned. “You like any people food.”
“I do! We should get some right now!” He stood up and stared hard at me.
“Sorry, buddy. No people food for you.” I scratched his chin and he settled back down. He was quiet for a while and I went back to my book.
“Summer, huh? What’s so great about summer?” he said a bit later.
“Warm weather and long days, mostly,” I told him. “The good fruit comes back in season and people go to the beach or on vacation if they can.”
“For us, it means Desi will start to try really hard to sneak outside,” I said with a laugh.
Freddie shook his head. “I don’t know why she does that. There are ducks out there!”
I gave his head a gentle rub. “I know, Freddie. But they’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone.”
He gave me a feline grunt and started grooming himself. I picked my book up again and read about a page before he suddenly sat up. “Long weekend?” he asked.
“Yeah. We have Monday off.”
He looked at me, suddenly excited. “You’re going to be home an extra day?”
I smiled at him. “We are! We’ll get to hang out together.”
“Now I’m looking forward to it!”
Ok, so, it’s not actually a 3-day weekend for me. I have to work today. I’ll be here in the evening to read and respond to comments. Since I won’t be here right away to say it: thank you to all the Peeps who have served, or who have supported loved ones while they serve.