Memorial Day

Memorial Day. Most of us know it as a day to remember those who have served our country, fighting for our freedom. For me, however, Memorial Day has taken on additional significance. You see, this Memorial Day weekend marks this third time our family has gathered on the last weekend in May to say goodbye to someone we love. Yes, three loved ones, buried during Memorial Day weekends.

Yesterday at the service for my Uncle Orban, or “Runt” as I knew him, a video montage was played to begin the service. I was aware that there would be a video, but I anticipated photos of him with his family, co-workers, and friends, many of which I had seen the night before at the visitation. I was not prepared for what I saw. Instead of a collection of pictures of our Uncle Runt, it was images of all of our family, beginning with my grandparents (Big Mama & Big Daddy) all the way down to the youngest generation of the Jones family, set to the song “In the Shade of the Family Tree”. Wow…very emotional seeing all those pictures, both old and new.

It really got me to thinking a lot about family. Next to my salvation, family is the most important thing in my life. Always has been. My daddy was the next to the youngest of 11 children, 10 of whom lived to adulthood. There are 21 grandchildren; I am the youngest. The oldest is 24 years older than me. So there are two “sets” of cousins, the older ones and the younger ones. Because of that, we have different memories of what it was like growing up in the Jones family. I think the older ones think they have the “best” memories. However, even though they’re different from what the older cousins remember, my memories of the time spent with Big Mama and Big Daddy are just as precious. Some of us are close, some of us just sort of say “hey” and that’s about it, because there’s not that much in common. Some of us get on each other’s nerves unintentionally, some of us do it on purpose! Ha! However, at the end of the day, we are part of something special, something bigger than any of us. A family…where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Regardless of what happens, we are all part of that family tree, whose roots run deep in the Alabama soil, and whose branches will continue to grow.

So from now on, every year on Memorial Day, not only will I pause to remember and thank those who have served our country, I will remember those in our family who have gone on and are waiting to welcome us on the other side, and I will be thankful for the mark they have left on all our lives.