Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

Jeff and I both feel very strongly that it is important for our children to realize that there is more to Memorial Day than a day off of work and a cookout. In Russia, as morbid as it seems, it is a tradition for a bride and groom on their wedding day to visit a cemetary and leave a bouquet for fallen soldiers, acknowledging that their opportunity to get married and start a family came at the expense of others who died for their country. In the same way I feel like it is good for our children to not take our liberty and prosperity for granted and to acknowledge that "freedom isn't free".


To that end the scouts spend the Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend decorating fallen soldiers' graves in nearby cemetary. There are always a few veterans who come to the ceremony and I feel that it is an important opportunity for our children to put real live faces with the history they have learned about.



Then on Memorial Day itself all of our scouts march in the local Memorial Day parade. Since this is the first official scouting event after our cub scouts complete their rank, it is always kind of a milestone. Each cub scout wears his new uniform for the first time at this parade. It was especially important for Bute5 this year - it was his first time to be in the parade, now that he is officially a Tiger Cub.



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