Memorial Day

Despite being observed on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day is traditionally celebrated on May 30.

Jim and I are humbled and honored to call a great many present and former military service members family and friends. We are also extraordinarily fortunate to not have grieved for the loss of any of them during active duty.

My family has gathered at the farm to celebrate this holiday weekend with food, fellowship, and a sense of humor for as long as I can remember. But we are also mindful of the importance of the day and of the losses felt by so many around us.

Rural America, and farm families in particular, are riddled with grief during the Memorial Day Holiday. While rural communities make up just 17 percent of the total population of the United States, their community members make up approximately 20 percent of our active duty military servicemen and servicewomen. The sacrifices of rural communities and agricultural families in an effort to protect and preserve the freedoms we all are so accustomed to is something for which we should always be grateful.

So, as we did tonight around a campfire made in the middle of an old tractor tire rim, I hope you will find the time to raise your glass to those lost this year — and in the many years before — and remember that freedom is not free; it is a gift given with the volunteerism of a great many, some of whom never returned to the loved ones waiting for them.

And, to the families who are remembering a lost loved one this Memorial Day, we offer a prayer for your family and for the passage of your fallen solider.