Carnival of Family Life: Memorial Day Edition

Welcome to the Memorial Day 2008 Edition of the Carnival of Family Life.

Memorial Day is specifically reserved to honor those who have died in service to the United States. While the holiday’s origins are unclear and subject to debate, what is known is that it was originally called “Decoration Day” because it was a time when the graves of Civil War soldiers were decorated. It began in a number of different towns, but in 1966 Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York the site of its genesis. Long before it became a national holiday, Waterloo had treated it as such, closing down its businesses and holding city-wide observances.

The first official commemoration, on May 30, 1868, was marked by the placement of flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Following World War I, observances expanded to honor those who died in all American battles.

It was not until 1971 that Congress declared Memorial Day a federal holiday celebrated annually on the last Monday in May. In contrast, Veterans Day, November 11, is for the purpose of honoring veterans, living or dead.

One of the best ways to educate children about the sacrifice so many have made for their country is to take them to Memorial Day commemorative ceremonies in your community. Encouraging them to help decorate the graves of family members who served in the Armed Forces is an excellent way to teach them to respect and honor all veterans.

Education

racee Sioux presents Empowering Girls: I Would Pick You posted at So Sioux Me. She believes that “affirming our kids is vital.”

Tammy presents When It’s Over… That’s the Time to Fall in Love, Again posted at The Life Without School Blog.

Looking for a way to teach your children about charitable giving? Why not help support the establishment or maintenance of a veterans’ memorial in your community?

Family Finance

nickel presents Our Allowance System: New and Improved posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Alex presents Wedding Budget Planner and Calculator Spread Sheet posted at Home Life Weekly, a handy tool that will enable you to accurately monitor the true cost of a wedding.

Brice Hogan presents 6 Ways To Keep Your Food Bill Down posted at Financialzip.com.

Raymond presents Work From Home With Paid Online Surveys posted at Money Blue Book.

Matthew Paulson presents Keep Your Pool from Drowning Your Budget posted at American Consumer News.

Debt Freedom Fighter presents 5 Financial Rules To Live By posted at Discover Debt Freedom!

Family Health and Wellness

BeThisWay presents The Sunscreen Controversy posted at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest of The Time I Know You?.

Shaheen Lakhan presents Adult Attention Deficit Disorder: A Real Concern posted at Brain Blogger.

Suzanne presents First Visit To Local Farmers Market posted at Mommyfootprint.com. She is “striving to buy local food and, at the same time, teach important lessons to my kids about the importance of reducing our carbon footprint.”

Batya presents “Healthy Treats?” posted at me-ander.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Health Business Grows With Research and Demand posted at SharpBrains, “an in-depth look into the ‘brain training’ field and its future direction.”

Family Humor

Forthekids presents Mr. Ftk doesn’t like the Troll on my sidebar posted at Reasonable Kansans.

mom & dad presents Things You Could Never Imagine Saying posted at raising4boys.com.

emily whitby presents Confessions of a Non-Soccer Mom posted at Crazy Mom: Ideas, Recipes, Thoughts, Humor & More!.

Riley presents Look at Them Pearly Whites posted at All Rileyed Up.

Brent Diggs presents Nightlife posted at The Ominous Comma.

Susan Lutz presents I’m growing up right along side my kids posted at MotherJungle, echoing a common sentiment: “My kids always seem to teach me a thing or two.”

Jed Doyle presents Zombies Scare Me: Science Geek Son posted at Zombies Scare Me.

Family Pets

Matt M presents Dog Eats Too Fast? Try DogPause Bowl posted at The Pet Haven, a product review of a dog bowl that helps slow down your dog’s dining habits.

WhatWorksForUs presents Cat-n-tonic State posted at What Works For Us.

Fathersez presents Meet the newest members of the Fathersez family posted at Father Sez. They have never been “all that great with pets,” but are eager to set a new precedent.

Each Memorial Day, the President visits Arlington National Cemetery, offers remarks about the contributions of American servicemen and women, and places a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, who was laid to rest there on Nov. 11, 1921. In 1932, the simple white-marble tomb was erected and dedicated. The inscription reads: “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.” In 1958, two more unknown soldiers, one from World War II and one from the Korean War, were buried there and the name was changed to the Tomb of the Unknowns. On Memorial Day 1984, a soldier from the Vietnam War was interred. However, in 1998, when genetic tests identified the remains as those of Michael Blassie, an Air Force lieutenant who died in combat in 1972, his body was moved to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Missouri.

Family Relationships

Pat Ruppel presents A Time to Remember posted at Plain Talk and Ordinary Wisdom.

Homespunhealers presents Setting Healthy Boundaries With Family Members posted at HomeSpunHealers.

Sherry Love presents Should I continue to see an old friend behind my husband’s back? posted at Sherry Love. net.

Metaliphe presents Division of Labor Issues posted at Chandra Unplugged — No nonsense, Straight-up blogging from a Life Coach. Do you have a relationship to which each partner makes a unique, but equal, contribution or do you struggle to achieve balance? If its the latter, this article might help.

Anna Farmery presents There is Hope in Grief posted at Widows Quest.

Praveen presents Tao of Simplicity: Weekend Afternoon With My Son posted at Tao of Simplicity.

Hannah presents Going On: Love in a Time of Crisis posted at The Purloined Letter.

Michael Snyder presents Radical Depopulation Of The Earth — The Solution To Mankind’s Problems? posted at Shattered Paradigm.

Woman Tribune presents The Ultimate Bed posted at Woman Tribune.

Carrie Holub presents The Golden Age of Parenting posted at Motherhood Bytes.

Lovelyn presents Homemade Ant Bait posted at The Art of Balanced Living.

Chief Family Officer presents Legal Advice for Boomers: Tips for raising grandchildren posted at Chief Family Officer.

Terri Mauro presents Judging Disruptive Behavior in Church posted at About Parenting Special Needs.

Chris McGinn presents Make a memory on Memorial Day posted at Hitting Home.

Why do the members of the American Legion sell red crepe paper poppies every Memorial Day? Moina Michael is credited with beginning the tradition in 1915 after hearing the poem “In Flanders Fields” where 368 members of the armed forces who died in World War I (1914–1918) are buried. The poet, John McCrae, was a surgeon with Canada ‘s First Brigade Artillery. The poem was drafted in response to his sorrow at seeing the graves of those who died on Flanders’ battlefields, located in a region of western Belgium and northern France.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) adopted the poppy as its official memorial flower in 1922. A shortage of poppies inspired the idea of enlisting unemployed and disabled veterans to produce the artificial version. Although a poppy factory in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania supplied the artificial blooms for many years, today they are assembled at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and veterans’ homes and distributed by the American Legion and other veterans’ service organizations. Donations benefit veterans and their survivors, as the poppy stands as “a perpetual tribute to those who have given their lives for the nation’s freedom.”

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Parenting Tips and Advice

Kevin Heath presents Tips For Helping Our Kids Grow Up Green posted at More4kids.

Anmol Mehta presents How to Raise Enlightened Children posted at Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment and Kundalini Yoga, a discussion of a non-dual, spiritual approach to raising children who will achieve their highest human potential.

Fiona Lohrenz presents End the whining at day care posted at Child Care Only.

HowToMe presents How to Put on a Princess/Royal Picnic Party posted at HowToMe.

Family Activities and Travel

Lovelyn presents Homemade Ant Bait posted at The Art of Balanced Living.

Next Monday, June 2, 2008, the Carnival will be Live from Waterloo. Submit your family-related posts not later than 7:00 p.m. (Pacific time) on Saturday, May 31, 2008.

If you would like to host a future edition, please review the schedule here and drop a note using the contact form, letting me know which date works best for you! (The archive of past Editions is located here.)