MEMORIAL DAY 2026

 

Memorial Day is my favorite holiday of the year!

I have such fond memories of going with my family to take flowers to the cemetery for my brother’s grave when it was still called Decoration Day.  Then we would usually have a picnic in the back yard with my two married sisters and their families who lived in my hometown.  

My graduation from Brigham Young University was on Friday, May 31st—the day after Memorial Day 1968—before Congress mandated in 1971 that Memorial Day was to be the last Monday in May forever after. What a great date for me!   Still celebrating Memorial Day!

When my children were growing up Memorial Day was the official start of the “Nichols Family Summer” and all that George Gershwin wrote about the living being “easy”.  After washing windows and cleaning the garage in the early morning, we would spend the rest of the holiday playing games, going on a long bike ride, and eating our favorite summer barbeque foods.  

After my children were much older, we would run together in the BOLDERBolder 10K race before a short rest followed by our holiday picnic and evening fun.

Once my children got married and had their own children, any of the Nichols Family who could would get together for a fun-filled holiday with many of our favorite Memorial Day activities.

 But now it is just my husband and me.  Not as much fun as it used to be when the day was full of so many people and events.  This year it was going to be an empty backyard, so I proposed we go on a day trip.  Louis picked Colorado Springs—close, yet still far enough away that it felt like an occasion.

 We saw so many stores with outdoor displays featuring riots of blooms and potted flowers, each shouting “Pick me! Pick me!” to the throngs of people purchasing summer livery to enhance their yards for the ultimate get-away of a summer afternoon.  No wonder Henry James said the two most beautiful words in the English language have always been “summer afternoon”!

I didn’t buy any of those beautiful blossoms, however when I saw a display of colorful pinwheels, I bought one to enhance the atmosphere of summer afternoons in my own space.  So, when I see it turning in the breeze, I will remember my favorite holiday and all the memories that make it that!