by Blaine Howerton | NorthFortyNews.com
There are some holidays that carry celebration. Memorial Day has never fully felt like one of them to me.
My grandpa served in World War II. My dad served in Vietnam. My step-grandpa spent his entire career in the United States Air Force. Thankfully, all three made it home. I know many families cannot say the same.
But even when soldiers survive war, parts of war often come home with them.
Growing up around veterans, I saw that reality quietly and up close. Sometimes it was in stories told years later. Sometimes it was in the silence after certain names came up. Sometimes it was simply in the look that crossed their face when memories returned without warning.
I learned early that Memorial Day is not only about those we lost on the battlefield. It is also about the weight carried by the people who came home without all of their friends beside them.
That weight never fully disappears.
This week’s edition of North Forty News reflects a Memorial Day weekend that feels very Northern Colorado. Across these pages are stories about flags filling fields in Windsor, music in Loveland, dancers gathering in Fort Collins, graduations, community markets, gardens, concerts, and neighbors coming together.
And honestly, I think that balance matters.
Because Memorial Day has always lived somewhere between remembrance and ordinary life.
Across Northern Colorado this weekend, families will gather for cookouts. Children will ride bicycles through neighborhoods. People will head into the mountains, attend local events, and spend time together under warm spring skies. At the same time, small American flags will appear beside headstones, veterans will stand quietly during ceremonies, and families who carry loss will remember names the rest of us may never know.
Freedom has always carried real names.
For me, this holiday also brings thoughts of my grandfathers and my dad — men who served, came home, built families, worked hard, and kept moving forward while carrying memories most of us will never fully understand.
I think about what they saw.
I think about who they lost.
And I think about how those losses continue echoing quietly across generations long after wars officially end.
Memorial Day reminds us that sacrifice is not abstract. It lives in empty chairs, old photographs, folded flags, and stories handed down over kitchen tables year after year.
So this weekend, while Northern Colorado gathers together, I hope we pause for a moment too.
To remember the men and women who never made it home.
To honor the families who carry that loss.
And to recognize the veterans who survived war, but still carry pieces of it with them every day.
See you out there,
Blaine Howerton
Publisher, North Forty News
Be sure to read this week’s complete edition online at NorthFortyNews.com/this-week. Bookmark the link — the new edition is posted there automatically each time it comes out.