Recently, my 92 year old grandfather and I visited local cemeteries where various of our family members are buried. Most fascinating to me was the tombstone of my grandfathers maternal grandparents (my great, great grandparents). While there, grandpa held down my paper and I rubbed a crayon over the very old tombstone which was no longer legible. On the side of the tombstone is the engraved name of their son Willie, my great great uncle, who died in 1898 at age 19 in the Spanish-American War (see above).
This outing was an adventure for me, but was also meaningful for my grandfather, who fears that, when he is gone, no one will care enough to visit or take care of these gravesites any longer. I feel it is important to have a connection with those who came before us, those who paved the way. My four year old daughter has expressed interest in accompanying me to the cemetary next time, and together we will help carry on grandpa's wishes, now and after he passes on. Perhaps, a picnic with the ancestors...how 'bout it, Willie?
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This is a very cool thing to do. And yes, a connection to those that went before us, can be enriching. It is our blood line after all.
ReplyDeleteWow - that was beautiful! Your grandfather looks WONDERFUL and I'm sure this meant so much to him. Before I became a momma, I used to love to walk through local cemetaries and look at the graves of those who had gone before us. I used to wonder what they looked like and what they did with their lives and found much peace there. Cemetaries can be a strong spiritual places because there is a lot of love surrounding them - people going to visit and speak with those who have passed on, etc - while there are tears shed there, there are also a lot of positive feelings of love left behind :). I really enjoyed this blog. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about this lately, too. Tho' my family tree is really.... Hmmm, what could I compare it to? It's more like willows. There's a patch here and there, and how did some get over here?! But anyway, yes, I've been thinking, as I get older that I will be the one to remember. My grandma is the keeper right now. She keeps track of all our relations.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you went and did that with your grandpa.
I've never seen this done...what an incredible idea! Great way to remember and have discussions with the kids about life, death, and relatives. Great blog! --Jennifer syrendell.blogspot.com
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