It’s Memorial Day weekend. That’s right. We devote an entire weekend to remembering the sacrifice others have made on our behalf so we can do the things we want to do whenever, and wherever, we chose.

As we relish an extra day off of work, plan cookouts, attend parades and get lured into stores with the promise of lucrative savings in honor of said veterans I can’t help but wonder if we’re missing the point.

I’m not pointing a finger. Trust me. I’m just as guilty as the next busy mom whose mind is perpetually preoccupied with stuff – groceries that need buying, clothes that need washing, houses that need cleaning and kids that need raising. Especially this weekend when I have all of my boys home. All except one.

My middle son (or “number three,” as I affectionately refer to him), is half-way across the globe right now, participating in a study abroad program that placed him in one of the edgier destinations offered. This exotic locale will no doubt fill him with wonder and hone his already impressive mastery of their native language. That he had to get shots prior to departure sent up a red flag in my overprotective mind, but it didn’t deter him. Not in the least.

Still, as my home-bound boys string red, white and blue bunting along our front porch railing, I can’t help but reflect on the fact that my son is able to indulge his wanderlust because of the sacrifices made by so many service men and women through the generations.

Because of them, he has the luxury of knowing full well that the liberty and bounty of our great nation will still be here for him when he returns…his favorite apple pie included (see recipe below).

So, on behalf of my son, I’d like to thank my dad, father-in-law, godfather, brother, nephew, several dear friends and scores of others who have served in the military. Without your sacrifice, I can’t even imagine what kind of world we’d be living in. All I do know is there probably wouldn’t be any pie.

Crunch Top Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 deep dish pie crust
1 pack graham crackers, crushed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 stick butter, melted
6 medium granny smith apples
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour

Place pie crust onto a large cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. Peel, core, quarter and thinly slice apples. Place into pie crust. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, walnuts and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the apples, making sure it gets into the gaps. Pour melted butter over the apples and back for at least one hour or until the apples are softened.