Memorial Day, its not just another day to me.

Well, its another Memorial Day memory for me. Memorial Day is supposed to be a day to remember war veterans, people who serve or who have served our country, cook outs and special days with Friends. For me, Memorial Day is the saddest day for me. I usually don't go out but try and stay home. You see Memorial Day and I have a special relationship that's unique to other people. Let me explain.

When I was in high school, my parents took me to get a puppy for my birthday. It was the first time, I got to go and pick out a dog. My pets were usually strays as the neighborhood knew that if you didn't like your pet, drop it at her house and it will have a new home. So I picked out this beautiful little dachshund and named her Cassie (short for Cassiopeia). I got her in January and she was the cutest and best dog. My sophomore year in high school my dog was hit and killed by a car after having her for only a year. She died on Memorial Day. I was so sad that I didn't get another dog for about 6 months and I went to the pet store (as we had them back in my day) and picked out the cutest little terrier mix who lived to be 22 years old after being hit by a car. She got pins in her knees and a plate in pelvic bone and was fixed. I used my student loan for my Spring Semester of my freshman year of college to pay for it. I've been working at finishing my degree ever since but I digress.

I graduated high school and my friends went off to college. I stayed home and went to VCU. I had a great first year until Memorial Day. One of my friends from high school was killed along with her brother in law, niece and nephew. They had decided to go to Nailers Beach for the day. The steering mechanism broke on their van and the van drove off of the bridge and they drowned. From my understanding, the bystanders just stood there and watched. My friend's boyfriend got out of the van and he came up for air and went down into the murky water to try and save them. He got tired quickly and she and her family perished.

Memorial Day has spared me for over 20 years until this year. My family was invited to go to Virginia Beach. My children (ages 8,6,4) have not been to the beach. My oldest went when she was 2-1/2 but she doesn't really remember it. We had an awesome time and I was glad that we did something fun. We all had a blast.

We went to work on Tuesday and my husband checked out our church's website, Mount Pleasant, to see the latest happenings. He discovered that a dear man to me and our son, Mark Mingea, had suddenly died. It seems that he wasn't feeling good on Memorial Day and coughed up some blood. His wife went to get a rag and some aspirin. When she returned, he had died. She tried to revive him on the way to the hospital but he didn't revive. His death was a great loss to me. See, he was my son's first Sunday School Teacher. Our son has hydrocephalus and Mark took to him especially strong. He always referred to Casey as his boy and his little man and Casey would always smile at him and give him a big hug. No matter where we were or what was going on, Mark would always make sure that Casey knew that he was loved by him. So this was an especially hard loss for me as I love people who love my children. He is going to be missed. I still have tears when I think of what the world is going to miss but again Heaven has gained a wonderful soul.

So, as you can see, Memorial Day and me have a special relationship. Memorial Day is truly a day to memorialize those you love and remember. People say things happen in 3s and this was the third thing. Maybe Memorial Day will now be a day that I can look forward to enjoying with family and friends. I certainly hope so.

I hope you had a hot dog, hamburger filled holiday and that you remember to think of those who mean something to you and let them know why they are still here because your time could be up in a blink of an eye.

God Bless!!

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