05/25/2026
“It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country, in defense of us, in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray haired. But most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives — the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us. And all we can do is remember.”
— Ronald Reagan
That phrase always stops me:
“They gave up two lives…”
Not just the life they had. The life they would have lived.
The ordinary moments they never got back. Gone.
Memorial Day should feel heavy in the right way.
Because freedom has always been carried by young men who stepped toward sacrifice while the rest of the country kept living ordinary life.
Many of them were barely older than our son is now.
And while we often celebrate the big moments of freedom… fireworks, flyovers, long weekends… the real cost was paid in the small moments those men never got back.
The bedtime stories.
The quiet dinners.
The hugs at the front door.
The life they never got to finish building.
They gave up the moments we barely notice.
So today… slow down enough to notice them.
Hold your kids a little longer.
Call your parents.
Pray with your family.
Be grateful for boring freedom.
And remember that somewhere in the story of this country are young men who carried fear, courage, conviction, and duty at the exact same time.
Legacy is often built by men who never get to see its full impact.
