Memorial Day weekend kicks off summer in the neighborhood

Memorial Day is the day set aside each year to remember those who gave all in service to this country. For many of us, it's a three-day weekend that also marks the end of the school year. We remember fallen soldiers, yes. But we also kick off the summer.

According to WalletHub.com, 44% of Americans will barbecue this weekend and Americans will eat approximately 7 billion hot dogs. My family will likely contribute to this statistic. Warmer weather means we'd rather fire up the grill than heat up the kitchen.

It also means neighborhood kids will ride big wheels and bicycles up and down our dead-end street. They'll make chalk art on the sidewalk and share bubbles, balls and water balloons. I love this whole summer scene. It reminds me of how I grew up. My parents had good friends who lived on our block and my cousins lived across the street. We all played together outside, and we even went on camping trips together. These kinds of neighborhood memories feel like home. When I was 8 years old, we moved from that street where we knew everyone, and I never thought I'd find that again.

In my early adulthood the popular phrase was "a good neighbor is the one you don't know." I thought this was true. I've lived in places where instead of asking if I needed help, I was presumed a nuisance. I was once cited for not shoveling the snow from the sidewalk. I had been sick, and my husband was traveling for work. No one ever thought to knock on the door after a snowstorm to see if I needed any help. They called the city instead and we were cited for not plowing. I felt very alone.

Now that my son is in elementary school and we live on this blessed dead-end street, I don't feel that way anymore. Kids have a way of forcing parents to know their neighbors. They gravitate to other kids and utter that eager phrase of budding friendships: "Want to play?" What else are parents to do as we hand out Popsicles and clean skinned knees? We get to know each other too. Next thing you know we're texting and making plans. We let each other know when the cat gets out, we borrow cups of sugar and drag out the law chairs for evening chats around the fire pit. It feels like home. It feels like we belong.

This weekend, 37.1 million travelers will be on the road with 51,300 estimated injuries due to car accidents. Not us. We'll be on our dead-end street, hot dogs in hand while kids toss water balloons. We'll remember our fallen soldiers and feel grateful for this nation, this neighborhood, this dead-end street and this home. The greatest tribute I can offer our soldiers is exercising hard-won freedoms right here in the neighborhood.