So.....this Memorial Day Bill, Emalei, Dale and I went to Sunnyside to clean up the headstone and grave site of Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Bill was on call in Prosser and as luck would have it, he got called to work and had to return to Prosser. Emalei and Dale and I went on to the cemetery and left some flowers. It was a beautiful day and the headstone was so dirty with weeds and compact dirt on parts of the headstone. We got it all cleaned up and presentable with flowers. It was a nice time. Sunday we were in Sunnyside for dinner with friends and Bill wanted to go by and see how the headstone looked. Another beautiful day. It is good to remember those in our family who have passed on and remember the impact they had on our lives and the roll they played. I felt sad this year as I thought that there was a great possibility that no on was there to decorate Harold, Grandpa and Grandma Huggins, and Uncle Aftons grave in Rawlins. I don't know whether my cousin Cynthia would to that or not. There's a chance she might have since her parents are also buried there. My mom and dad are not in the health to be able to but that was something they would always do when they could. So this Memorial Day was a day of reflection and a good one at that.
Emalei and Dale
All cleaned up
Emalei doing the final touches
Dale getting the hose put away.
3 comments:
Thanks for the post, mom. It was special to be at the cemetary. It's good to be reminded of special people in our lives. Grandma was very special to me and I miss her very much.
Mom didn't mention that later that night we walked around the Prosser cemetery. I've always liked walking around cemeteries. I like to wonder about the people and their lives and think about my life and what life really is...
Great post Janet. You (all of you) have no idea I'm sure how much this means to me. Regardless of our faith in life hereafter and knowing their spirits aren't in that ground, I still feel we show respect for the person(s) by keeping their grave sites clean and tidy.
I know when Reva, Shel and Jeanine drove up for last year's May reunion, they bought flowers to take to mother and dad's grave. When I was there in July, I stopped after church that first Sunday and noticed it needed some trimming and such. I went back later in the week to do the trimming and had to play a game similar to "hide & seek" with the suto-sprinkler system while working on it.
At the end of my endeavors, the grave site looked better but I looked like a wet dog. However, the wet-dog look was almost worth it since it was about 97 degrees the entire time I was there those two weeks.
Cousin Beth's parents are buried in an Eastern Orthodox cemetery in Pittsburgh. She goes every year to clean and decorate their graves. The majority of graves in the cemetery have pictures on them. I think it's more of a tradition with them.
Just a heads-up to the next generation: I have a plot near by in that same cemetery that mother purchased for me years ago.. Need I say more? Hope I don't have to.
An absolutely gorgeous day here. No clouds, 70's. And this is after some spots close by had to worry about freezing temps early this morning.
Thanks again Smiths!
Aunt Beth
Mom, great post. I was wondering where those pictures were going to pop up. It is always a pleasure for me to go out and clean up the graves a little bit. I remember Grandma Smith going out to visit Grandpa's grave.
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