Flags Flying High

This weekend was a really good one. I did a lot of knitting - and reading too. (For all of you who asked, the book that kept me in the car last Thursday was Orchid Beach by Stuart Woods.) I can’t wait to tell you all about the craft fair, seeing the damage at my dad’s place and the tag sale (oh am I ever sunburned) but not today. Today is for remembering.

On Friday, as I walked around near my office I saw flags being installed on many of the buildings around Arlington. Today is an overcast day, full of big grey storm clouds and the flags wave in the breeze. I am reminded of the flags that were mounted similarly on the Pentagon and many other buildings nearby in the wake of the attacks. Seeing them today sends me back in time to that day five years ago when we were all shocked by events we never imagined possible.

Five years. It sounds like a long time ago and in some ways – it is. The Drama Queen had just started first grade and Stinkerbelle was still a toddler. They’ve grown and changed a lot since then as we all have. We may feel a little bit of apprehension when we fly. We may worry more often that there are people out there who wish us ill. Most of us just feel just a little more vulnerable. I do.

I also feel hopeful. How can we not? The essence of life is hoping that tomorrow is just a little better than today and trying to make it so. It’s why we have children and why we create. It’s there in almost everything we do – the need to improve upon the past.

Today, as the flags fly, I am looking at them and thinking about the past while I hope for good things ahead.