When you think about Memorial Day Weekend, many of us immediately picture grilling out in the backyard and enjoying time off with our friends and family. We travel to new places, take beach vacations, and enjoy parades and fireworks displays. The “Official Start to Summer” encourages us to get out of the house and enjoy everything about being an American. Unfortunately, the Memorial part of Memorial Day often gets lost in all of the excitement and activities and we sometimes fail to reflect on those in the Armed Services that have lost their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms that we have.
This year is different in so many ways.
The Coronavirus Pandemic suddenly upended our lives as we know it. We will experience a very different kind of Memorial Day without large gatherings and events. Many of us will stay at home this year. While we are starting to see a few signs of normalcy emerging, many of us are truly hurting and feeling anxious about an uncertain future.
Suddenly, the absence of normalcy makes us realize all the things we take for granted on a daily basis. We start to understand the sacrifice so many have made so that we even have the opportunity to take those things for granted. A crisis certainly makes us stop to think about Memorial Day is all about. We honor the men and women who died serving in the military and we start to truly appreciate their sacrifice and the continued sacrifice of all of those active-duty members of the Armed Forces and their families.
This is a different kind of Memorial Day. We morn and remember the nearly 100k people that have died from COVID-19, many of those put their lives at risk trying to save others. We are eternally grateful for all of our healthcare workers, first responders and emergency personnel, the police, firefighters, grocery store workers, the bus drivers, sanitation workers, mental health therapists, nursing home workers, those working in the food supply chain, public health employees, city workers, and everyone caring for sick friends and family members. We thank the scientists frantically searching for a vaccine. We thank the entrepreneurs who are focused on solving the present and future societal problems that COVID creates. And of course we thank all of those abroad and all of our active military personnel for which this disease makes their jobs so much harder. This Memorial Day we realize how many are truly essential.
From our team at Compass East, we remember all of those that we’ve lost this year and we thank everyone that keeps us safe. We are eternally grateful!
Stay safe and have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend!