Many times our hectic lives cause a failure to ask the questions of family that are important when painting the picture of who we are and how did we get here. For the most part (and most of us) we all know who we are – name, address, parents, siblings, etc. – and we snicker a little knowing how we literally got here.  One should however pry a bit deeper with someone that knows. Some will not volunteer family histories but when asked, a whole new family education and heritage emerges. Then we pause (or should) and reflect on the similarities of this life versus those that preceded us.

This weekend I had a special opportunity to share time with my Father…back home. It’s always a cherished time when I’m able to see him and have the one-on-one time. This trip, this time, was infused with serious weather (another blog forthcoming) but we managed our usual how-is-everybody conversations, television watching, golf talk, arguments over who is paying for lunch, and so on. The Memorial Day holiday posed a unique experience with Dad. Every year since I can remember my parents have tended the gravesites of relatives in various cemeteries on Memorial Day weekend. The last time I remember being a part of this tradition was when I thought girls were from another planet.  On this weekend, for the first time in oh-so-many years, Dad and I together made the “cemetery run”. And he shared with me a few things to make me pause and remember family. Continue reading “A Memorial Trip”