Destroy the Lithuanian

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

OK, I should probably start with "Where the f*c* have I been?"  Good question.  Yeah, I did try to just jump back in with a "Happy Memorial Day Weekend!"  You caught that, huh?  Well it is a valid question.  So before I get back to the subject at hand, I will answer the question, "Where the f*c* have I been?"

Before answering the question, though, I apologize for the language.  Generally, I try to keep things PG rated.  After all, I am a suburban sports dad.  We need to set a good example.  As do all the suburban sports moms.  However, I saw a Facebook post from a friend describing the spider bomb attack on her while running.  At the end of the post, she said "F*** Nature!"  I laughed out loud.  That reminded me of the power of an F-Bomb.  The F-Bomb seemed appropriate.

Sadly, the answer is nowhere.  I have just been tired, and busy and generally lazy.  After a week of soccer practices, swim practices, soccer games, swim meets, cub scout events and work, I just haven't found the time to finish a blog post.  And yes, I mean finish.  I have started several.  I have plenty of drafts.  I just haven't finished any.  There are a lot of other things I haven't finished, but really, this is he most important thing.  I have let you down.  Hence the F-Bomb.

Back to Memorial Day Weekend.  Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  Memorial Day Weekend is not the first time we grill.  Actually, you can't really say there is a "first time."  We grill for Christmas sometimes.  I have dug a path in 6 inches of snow so I can walk to the grill in the middle of winter.  We do typically grill on Memorial Day Weekend, at least twice.  This year was no exception.  We took advantage of the beautiful, spring like Saturday weather and grilled chicken for the first (but definitely not the last) time this summer.

During the meal, which we ate outside for the first time this year, The Wife, as she is wont to do, asked the Boys what they were most looking forward to this summer.  Eldest said "Ieva" in reference to O4C.  He then said something about returning to "Destroy the Lithuanian."  We are pretty sure he was talking about Kill the Family Tour 2015.

Yes, we will be killing the family again this summer.  Kill the Family Tour 2015 starts some time between now and July 1, but will begin in earnest on or around July 3, 2015.  O4C returns to America on July 1.  We will give her a day or two to recover from the trip.

We have started to plan Kill The Family Tour 2015.  I won't give anything away now, but I will be sure to update this blog, and we will track it on Facebook, just like like last summer.  The Wife and I agreed last summer that if O4C returned this year, we would take it easier.  Based on what we have planned, that's not going to happen.  I have not been well rested in about 11 years.  Why start now?

Aside from planning to "Destroy the Lithuanian," we had a typical Memorial Day Weekend.  We spent half our time making up for ignoring the house, the yard, and the garden for the last month as we cleaned, planted, mowed, etc.  We went to the pool.  We grilled.  We went out to breakfast.  We enjoyed the pleasant weather.  We prepared to begin the summer swim season, by buying new suits and goggles.

Memorial Day is the traditional beginning of summer, at least for my family and in the mid-Atlantic region.  I think we do many of the same things as many other families.  However, as much as it is nice to get a 3 day weekend, and catch up for a month's worth being too busy, Memorial Day has a greater meaning and a greater purpose.  Many people posted on Facebook to remind us of that greater meaning and purpose.  One post always means more.

Every year, my sister in law honors her brother who gave his life not just for our country, but also for his belief that he could make a difference in another country as well.  Blake died in Iraq almost 9 years ago.  He didn't die fighting, he died trying to build a better country in Iraq, and a better world for all of us.  He truly believed in what he was doing.

This year, as she has done every year, my sister in law posted several pictures of her brother.  He is always smiling, he is always young and he is always full of hope.  I only met  Blake a few times.  My memories of him are exactly as he is in those pictures.  Joyful.  Strong.  Handsome.  He is missed, as are all the people honored and remembered on Memorial Day.  I remember and I celebrate.  I celebrate a life ended too early, but lived with purpose.

Happy Memorial Day.  I hope you enjoyed the day.  I hope you enjoy the weekend.  And I hope you live a life with purpose.

For the next few months, I will try to "Destroy the Lithuanian" and maybe, "Kill the Family."