Happy Memorial Day!

Tip of the Day: It's hard to imagine a town without a statue or plaque dedicated to the soldiers from that town. What's unique about the memorial in your town? Is there a story in it?

Happy Memorial Day! I'm feeling incredibly thankful this Memorial Day. I'm very blessed in having a creative, artistic family. I'm blessed in having a decent education. I'm blessed in having time to pursue my writing. When I'm feeling down that there's never enough time to write, I remind myself of my ancestors. Hundreds of years ago in Ireland, those women would've gotten down on their hands and knees and begged for a day's worth of the time I have.

I'm blessed that my parents are readers. No matter how broke we were, they always found a dollar for my school's Scholastic Book Fair. My mother took me to the library once every two weeks, from my preschool years through my high school years. I'm blessed to live in a country with a public library system like ours. So many stressful times in my life, the library was my refuge.

I'm blessed to live in this time and this place, with a free flow of ideas and the intellectual freedom to express them. And I'm blessed to have access to incredible amounts of information, enough to keep me learning and curious my whole life through.

[Comic by xkcd.com]

Today, I'm thankful for all the people who brought me to this time and place, especially the soldiers and their families who sacrificed for our freedoms to read, to write, and to exchange ideas. For those of you with friends and family serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and sacrificing all over the globe, my thanks and prayers are with you.

-- Kate, Miss Apprentice Writer