Stars and Stripes Forever
This week happened to be my Dad’s birthday and is hard to believe it’s the third year we’ve celebrated without him. He was a man that loved his country, being patriotic, and served in the United States Army. This week’s post is dedicated to the story of my Dad and his flag.
Every year since I can remember, my Dad always purchased a new American flag, which was proudly displayed in his yard. In my parent’s first home and the one I grew up in, the flagpole was placed in a side yard adjacent to the driveway. When you drove up, the flag was the first thing you saw beyond the house. It was displayed on a 30 foot flagpole and waved free in the wind and free in the calm.
After my parents built a new home across the street from the original, the flag was prominently placed in the front yard on a hill, just south of the house and north of the driveway. Again, each year a new flag would replace the loved, worn and frayed flag from the previous year’s wear. There wasn’t any fancy fanfare, it was just something he did, year after year, for the love of his country.
Since his passing, we honor him each year on his birthday, to keep his tradition alive . A new flag replaces the current one that waves free, not only out of patriotism, but out of our love for this great man. It’s the best way we know how to pay tribute to a father, husband, farmer, son, brother, uncle, former soldier and friend.
Unfortunately, the day’s weather wasn’t the best, it was chilly and raining, but that didn’t deter our efforts. We gathered under our umbrellas as my brother Jeff lowered the old and then reverently raised the new flag. It only took a few short minutes but meant so much to us as a family. I know my Dad was with us, smiling down from the heavens. One thing I know to be true, he’ll never have to worry, his tradition will always be honored and there’ll be stars and stripes forever flying valiantly in the wind and equally stoic in the stillness.
xoxox…..Sheryl
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