Lilacs have such a distinct scent, I suppose you either love or hate it.

For me, it’s always been love.

This afternoon, my neighbor brought over a clutch from her bushes, and oh MY! So good to let this heady aroma flood the room. Soon it’ll fill every corner.

Kind of like a saying our daughter shared with me a few years back. Once you choose hope, anything is possible.

I’ve been thinking about World War II breaking out in Europe–how the chaos spread from country to country, crossing oceans, changing people’s lives. Can’t really imagine how it was for my mother, a high school girl, to watch her two older brothers go off to fight.

They were a poor family, and the younger brother was drafted before he even finished high school. Think of our barely-eighteen-year-old graduates today having to depart for battlefields afar. How hard would that be?

But when challenges mount, hope goes to work. Imagine the HOPES people cherished back then . . . for victory, for loved ones to return, for peaceful times to flourish again. That hope fueled great innovations and unparalleled production in the industrial world.

And it ignited a spirit of unity that we could certainly use more of today.

With Memorial Day nearing, it’s good to recall the sacrifices our grandparents and parents made–more than we can begin to comprehend. As we tote our blossoms to the cemetery this year, remembering means a lot.