Flag Day

My memories of elementary school are nothing but carefree snippets of amazing recess trends, Hot Cheetos-addictions and dorky class projects. The funny thing is that at that exact moment in time, we all felt like we were so grown-up and sophisticated. My paper bag Indian vest for the Thanksgiving party in 1^st grade ruled and don’t even get me started on my career bear. Over dinner yesterday evening, a friend asked how my baby brother was doing. As we started talking about his latest Kindergarten fiascos, we all agreed that we wouldn’t mind being that age again. When you get a taste of the real world, 3 pages of homework, kickball and cookies sounds like heaven.

I was just looking at the calendar and I realized that Flag Day is almost a couple of days away. I burst out laughing when I remembered the Flag Day program we would put on in elementary school every year. The girl that wore the Statue of Liberty costume would walk across the stage as if she really had a torch in her hand and Yankee Doodle eerily came alive and tripped half way across the stage while 20 of us would wave plastic flags in the background.

Although these memories only make me realize how silly and fun it is to be a kid, I can also see that these hilarious shows really did teach us about patriotism and being grateful for our freedoms. America has come a long way and although we’re going through a rough patch right now, things could be worse. There are places that dictate how many children you can have and what media content can air on your TV.

This year, take a moment to reflect on the positives and negatives of being an American. Many schools put on festive programs in honor of the flag during this time and I’m sure teachers would be very appreciative of Flags and patriotic decorations. When some teachers take money out of their own pocket to incorporate participation and lessons in spite of their low salaries, I’m sure any parent donations would help.