It's a little-known fact, but we employees of The State News work on Sundays. That is because the newspaper comes out on Monday and because MSU holds class on Mondays. That said, this weekend was special.

Each and every employee of The State News woke up Sunday with no place to be and nothing to do - thanks to Memorial Day.

As the sun shone itself Monday, and we reported to work, the rest of the country (on average) had a day off. The U.S. postal workers, students of all grade levels and trash workers found themselves not even bothering with their alarm clocks.

The sunshine felt good, and the barbecue tasted even better. Memorial Day is a sign of the beginning of summer, a reward for making it through another rough winter and wet spring.

But as we were all feeling thankful for a long weekend, there was something else we should have remembered to give thanks for.

We were all able to sleep in, take it easy and enjoy the finer things of American life, such as baseball and beer. We were able to enjoy a long weekend of relaxation because of the wars our forefathers and foremothers fought.

Our way of life and freedom that we enjoy so much has not always been. Thousands upon thousands of American citizens have given their lives through the past 230 years - and even longer - in order for us to enjoy such a thing as a peaceful weekend, with few responsibilities and even fewer worries.

War is not a pleasant thing, but it's a way of life and it's part of our history. It's necessary to celebrate Memorial Day for what it is - a day for remembering those who have given their lives to protect our freedom.

We won't stand up on a soapbox here and preach about how you should all have the American flag waving half-staff or that you should have woken up early on Sunday and Monday mornings to watch the variety of parades created to honor the memories of our fallen heroes. But we do urge you to remember and reflect upon the hardships that have plagued the American people, and it's good to look at how far we've come.

We're not a perfect country. Our leadership could be better; we could all be a little healthier and conscious of what's going on in other parts of the world. But all-in-all, we have it pretty good - a lot better than the majority of people inhabiting this planet.

Memorial Day is a chance to think about what our country had to go through to get to where it is today. It's a day to remember those we have lost in warfare and to give thanks that we can all afford to devote a weekend to having fun.