I am reposting this article in honor of the last week of school.

I loved the last days of school. The final week celebrated the best elements of education without the needless distractions of books, lessons, or tests. Students spent the hours helping teachers prepare classrooms for summer break.

The boys carried armloads of textbooks to the storage closet. We embraced the manual labor as a badge of honor. After delivering the dusty tomes, we roamed the halls before reluctantly returning to class.

The girls washed the chalkboards and stripped the bulletin boards. All of us joined in dumping the year’s debris from our desks. We scrubbed the desktops until they gleamed.

Teachers sent trustworthy children outside unsupervised to clean the chalk erasers. We banged the felt pads against the building and scrubbed them on wire boxes. Clouds of white powder filled the air. No doubt the inhalation of chalk dust caused many of my generation’s ills.

The cafeteria closed early for its annual degreasing, and the school provided grab-bag lunches with mysterious contents. In the days before peanut allergies, they often served peanut butter and honey blended sandwiches—a terrible defilement of the traditional peanut butter and jelly classic.

When the last bell of the last class of the last day sounded, we erupted from the classrooms like escaping POWs. Whoops of joy resounded down the hallways by the teachers. Bursting through the exits, we exalted in our newfound freedom.

An endless summer stretched before us, enchanted with magical promise. Who knew what new adventures awaited us? Life stretched before us filled with limitless possibilities.

Sometimes I imagine that the final day of my life will feel like the last day of school.

During my childhood, Memorial Day signaled the unofficial start of summer. I never thought much about the holiday’s deeper meaning. Enjoying a day off from school seemed significant enough.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Major General John A. Logan issued General Order 11. It designated May 30 as Decoration Day to honor fallen soldiers. Arlington Cemetery hosted the first major observance in 1868. The annual event grew into a national holiday.

Today our nation observes Memorial Day on the last Monday of May. The holiday honors military personnel who have died during wartime. Parades, speeches, flags, and cemetery floral arrangements mark the occasion.

We remember the men and women who have given their lives in the service of their country. We also honor armed forces’ personnel who presently serve at home or abroad. Our liberties come at a high cost, and we recognize those who lay aside self-interest for their country’s sake.

We recognize military families who make their own sacrifices. Each member of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Reserves, and National Guard leaves behind a family at home. Our service personnel wear a uniform; but parents, siblings, spouses, children, and friends support them on the home front.

This weekend fly the flag. Take your hat off when the National Anthem plays. Recite the words of the Pledge of Allegiance in a strong voice. Express your appreciation to a veteran. Visit a cemetery. Place a flower arrangement. Say a prayer.

Remember, and give thanks.

• Joints provide a Rice-Krispy-soundtrack of snaps, crackles, and pops
• GI tracts make the same noises as a coffee maker.
• Drivers lower the radio volume while following directions.
• Doctors regularly use the phrase, “For a person your age.”
• Medicare supplement ads fill the mailbox and inbox.
• Speeders are maniacs and slowpokes are morons on the interstate.
• A hot date involves a recliner and heating pad.
• Empty boxes fill the garage because they’re REALLY good boxes.
• Pastimes include staring out a window for inordinate amounts of time. Bird feeder optional.
• Bending over lasts a while in case there’s anything else to do at floor level.
• Casual conversations cover medical procedures, home remedies, and physician references.
• My aching back and What a pain in the neck are more than expressions.
• Night driving provides a light show of halos and starbursts.
• But most days growing older beats the alternative.

This Sunday, May 11, our nation will observe Mother’s Day. The holiday began in May 1907 at Saint Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. A Methodist laywoman, Anna Jarvis, organized the service to honor her mother.

The Methodist Episcopal Church adopted the observation on a denominational level in 1912. Two years later President Woodrow Wilson designated the second Sunday of May as a national day to honor mothers.

Church and country created the holiday with the best of intentions; but the annual observance creates a pastoral minefield, filled with unexploded ordinance. I often use The United Methodist Church Book of Worship’s poignant prayer for the day.

For our mothers, who have given us life and love,

That we may show them reverence and love,

We pray to the Lord.

For mothers who have lost a child through death,

That their faith may give them hope,

And their family and friends support and console them,

We pray to the Lord.

For women, though without children of their own,

Who like mothers have nurtured and cared for us,

We pray to the Lord.  

For mothers, who have been unable to be a source of strength,

Who have not responded to their children

And have not sustained their families,

We pray to the Lord.

Loving God, as a mother gives life and nourishment to her children,

So you watch over your Church.
Bless these women, that they may be strengthened as Christian mothers.

Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.

Grant that we, their sons and daughters,

May honor them always with a spirit of profound respect.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.