Today's Memories

I finally met my great-nephew Aiden today.  He was born when we were in Savannah last week.  He couldn't wait to get here, he made it a month early.  But he and his mom are doing well.  His newborn clothes are way too big but we know he will grow into them soon.

Today was decoration/memorial day where my parents are buried.  I placed flowers on their graves yesterday, as well as on my mom's parents grave and her younger brother and sister's graves.  Most of my mom's family are all at the same cemetery.  Next weekend I take flowers to my dad's parents grave.  I know this is a vanishing tradition, but I have spent my whole life placing flowers on graves on decoration day.  When I was just a child, we packed a picnic lunch and had dinner on the grounds.
I thought nothing of exploring cemeteries with my younger brother. We would look at ancient tombstones and try to imagine what those who were buried there were like when they lived.

My grandmother Mamie would make beautiful paper flowers and then dip them in melted  wax to preserve them.  I would go with her to place them on her family's graves.  Watching her make those flowers is a memory etched forever in my brain.  We would also go through her flower gardens and pick armloads of flowers to place on graves in mason jars filled with water.

At the cemetery where my dad's family are buried, there are many graves so old, there are no markers or tombstones.  Just huge slabs of rocks covering the remains.  Through the years, the mysteries of those rock covered graves have caused many to speculate on those buried there.  Some say Native Americans who died on their way to reservations out west were laid to rest under those massive slabs.
I know each time I walk by them, I feel a tug in my heart and my spirit thinking about those buried in such a way.

I hope you all have had a Happy Mother's Day.  This morning Rick and I made quick trip to Walmart.
As I was getting in the car, a gentleman parked beside us was getting out of his truck.  He wished me a Happy Mother's Day.  I thanked him and told him I would let my dogs know about his wish.  He laughed and said, I bet you are like many other women who don't have kids, you have loved and taken care of too many to count.  We laughed and he asked about our dogs and told us that his brother did rescue dogs too.  Dogs have a way of bringing people together, much like kids.

Here's to a week of kindness.