From the Archives, for Memorial Day
Of course, on Memorial Day, I remember my father who was a veteran of WWII, and all my male relatives from my parents’ generation, all of whom served in the same war. Older cousins, both male and female, served in later conflicts and in peacetime, and I am honestly grateful for all they’ve done in service to this country.
Because my family always called Memorial Day “Decoration Day”, where the graves of family members are decorated with wreaths and flags and freshly planted flowers, I always associate it with remembering those we’ve lost whether they were veterans of military service or not. Relatives, friends, friends of friends, all were remembered on this day, families often visited, and of course, many flowers were exchanged, planted or displayed. I’ve also written about Memorial Day memories and thoughts on my photo and writing blog, Today.
My days lately have been up and down where cats are concerned from listening to a few friends who have ill or elderly cats, helping my neighbor and her kids with Little Man the other day, chasing and trapping the stray cats and the new kittens, the clinic and all the cats involved yesterday, and lately remembering Peaches and the whole gang from years ago, and Cookie especially. I am very grateful my current household of felines is well and healthy and I cherish them every moment. So this is my Memorial Day as well, and Decoration Day as Mimi and I work in the yard we remember all the kitties whose earthly remains are placed there, and whose spirits I clearly feel as I stir the soil to add their next feline family member under the sleeping kitty statue: Kublai, Allegro, Fawn, Sally, Nikka, Moses, Stanley, Sophie, Lucy, Namir, Peaches, Cookie and Kelly, and Lakota and Emeraude.
Above is Stanley on the picnic table on July 4, 2006, his last summer with me at age 24. You may recognize this from the sketch I did last summer called “Stanley With Geraniums”—this is one of the photos from that series, and I mentioned I almost included the flag in that sketch. Below is a gratuitous photo of Cookie that just happens to have my flag in it as I worked on a project out on the deck on July 4, 2009.
Browse some rescued cats and kittens!
All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.
What a beauty Stanley was
Thank you, Karen, those big tabby swirls, the white spot between his eyes, and those round white paws, I will never forget.
I hope you had a nice quiet peaceful day after all you did to help those kitties yesterday..
Bluemoonalone, it was quiet, I’d planned a lot of gardening and such but really just rested and thought a lot.
What a beautiful post. (((purrs)))
Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment about Glogirly’s story.
xo,
Katie
Thank you Glogirly and Katie (and Waffles in absentia), thanks for visiting!