Memorial Day Activities

We began today with a nice loooong talk with Daddy on the phone, as usual :) I had found out yesterday that Ft. Sam was hosting a free concert with the San Antonio Symphony today so we were planning to go. First I had to give Noah a buzz because it's just too hot and humid now for long locks. He sweats enough as it is! I think I did a pretty good job. I picked out a nice red polo for him to wear, thought it looked pretty patriotic. We bought him a little flag to wave around (he loves flags) and some chips and we were off to Ft. Sam.

I realize today is not yet Memorial Day, but since we were already on base I decided we should visit the cemetery. I knew there were over 100,000 graves there, but to actually see them in person is truly a sight to behold. As soon as we pulled in I was crying. I cried because there were so many. I cried because my husband made it home. I cried because I saw people carting flowers and flags for tombs of their family members who didn't make it home. I cried for the old veterans who were just staring, like me, trying to take in the totality of the sacrifice these people made for us. I was carrying Noah and I just felt grateful for everything I had. Josh isn't with me, but I talk to him every day and that's more than a lot of people can say. He came home. So after all that outpouring of emotion we headed on over to the concert to celebrate what all those men and women died for... "America", the idea, the reality, the freedom, the opportunity, the way of life, and the people.

Noah had tons of fun before the concert began by waving his flag around all over the place. He actually insisted on taking it to bed with him tonight. Like I said, the boy loves flags! He also found great delight in trying to hold our big new umbrella up on his own. "Hold it tight. I DID IT! Look Mommy! Fly in the Sky! FLY!"... I'm not sure where the flying part came in, but it may have been Mary Poppins' fault. DAMN YOU POPPINS!! hahaha I just wanted to say it.

Believe it or not the SA Symphony has a mascot! His name is Count Bassey (not too sure on the spelling) and he's a cello. The count was handing out little conductor wands to all the kids. He scared the crap out of Noah. Behold Noah's reaction as soon as he saw him. As the evil Count crept closer to us Noah let out this awful moany-scream... like the sound I make when I see a ginormous roach. The promoter with the Count was so impressed with Noah's reaction that he took his picture a couple times. We still got a wand and after that Noah was kind of obsessed with the big fuzzy cello. Not really out of fear anymore though... more like extreme caution.

The concert was great and I really admire them for putting it on despite the adverse weather conditions. I even got to stand up and sing the Army Song :) Whenever the Army Song is played, anyone currently serving or who has served in the Army is supposed to stand at attention and sing LOUD and PROUD. I sure did! It was fun for me and I got to remind some of the vets out there the rules ;) I think I was the first one to stand up. There was at least one person from every branch there and they all got their chance to stand and sing, whether they wanted it or not. They also performed a song written by Mark Ligon, a sophomore in HS who won best composition in the "Young Composers" competition. It was called "Peace Within" and it was amazing. I was impressed! The finale was the 1812 overture, complete with real cannons. Right after it was finished the fireworks started in the distance. It was all very well done. I think the Army guys manning the cannons got a little too "gun happy". They were setting off cannons for about 5 minutes after the overture. Poor Noah was freaking out about the "big BOOM". I'm sure there were a few vets there freaking out as well.

All in all it was a good day. The weather didn't change our plans. Tomorrow we're hoping to have V over for a cookout. It's going to be a total girl cookout. It's not going to be greasy or BBQ'y... it's going to be fresh veggies and salad and fruits and probably grilled fish. YUM! Maybe I'll get Noah some more sparklers or something. Right now it is well past my bedtime. Goodnight all.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Please take a moment to remember our fallen heroes.