Flowers and Flags

We really enjoyed our Memorial Day weekend this year though we stayed close to home. Memorial Day weekend for us has traditionally been used for one of two things. We either work outside around the house or we take a short trip. Last year we went camping but this year we did the yard work. We worked very hard Saturday and again on Monday making our yard look as nice as it has in a long time and probably as nice at it will look all year. The lawn is mowed, the flower beds weeded and bushes trimmed. Everyone pitched in, though it was hard to get Maura motivated on Saturday morning.

On Sunday we took the day off from our labors to visit friends. We went to a barbecue on Sunday evening where we enjoyed the company of friends old and new as well as plenty of great food outside in perfect weather. There were dozens of people at the event so I found it stressful. I’ve always been a shy person and I’m not always comfortable around strangers, particularly when I meet many at once. Maura, fortunately, is not shy and she had a great time. She makes friends wherever she goes.

On Monday we had more work to do but first Maura and I went to the Town of Weymouth’s Memorial Day Parade. The East Weymouth Congregational Church, where I am a member, is directly across the street from the small park where the parade route begins. As a public service the church offered water to the parade participants and also made our restrooms available to any who needed them. I was there to pass out water. Maura came along to help but she was mostly interested in watching the parade. She waved a flag as it went by. It was good to be at the ceremony at the start of the parade that commemorates those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom. We stood respectfully while the flags were raised, taps was played on a lone bugle and a salute was fired. It can be easy to forget the meaning of the holiday amid the sales and barbecues but this simple ceremony helped us remember.

The church lawn is not a bad place to view a parade. The parade route starts there so we can see it all before it starts moving. There was a small contingent from the National Guard, the police and firemen in their dress uniforms, local veterans’ group chapters and service clubs, the high school marching band and the Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, led by Boy Scout Troop 2 with a spectacular, and loud, flag and drum core.

After the parade it was back to work. While we were there Jennifer had gone to buy plants and they had to be put in the ground. She bought tomatoes and herbs. We’ve had good luck growing both of them in the past and they will add great flavor to our summer and autumn meals if we are as successful this year. The herb garden is in the spot recently occupied by Maura’s sandbox which she had stopped playing in. We’ve laid it out to be attractive as well as useful. The varying greens of the different herbs are set off by a ring of blooming marigolds, which also help to keep rabbits away. The garden is decorated with a fairy house made from an old chimney pot. Maura made furniture for it so the fairies should be quite at home there. The garden is guarded by a concrete cat, always poised to pounce on anything that might make trouble. Maura helped with the planting, particularly of the marigolds, and so far she’s been doing a good job of watering every day.