A bientot

We're off on an adventure, and my blog will be on hiatus until mid-May.

What a glorious day it was today, with sunny skies, seventy-some degrees, and a gentle breeze.  Bob, Zoe, and I went to the cemetery to decorate my parents' graves for Easter.  I had everything I needed to leave the artificial flowers in a pleasing way, but I never seem to remember to bring maintenance tools.  I took a big wet sponge to wash off the bench and stones, but I could have used a rake to gather up the leaves and clippers to neaten up around the headstone and my dad's military plaque.  The daylilies planted behind the bench had emerged and look very healthy.

When I go to the cemetery, I think about my mother's stories of how her family would spend Saturdays at the cemetery tending to all the family graves and stones.  I  like the feeling of just being one of many across the generations who have shown their love for family through this simple task, honoring the memory of those who came before.

Bob took Zoe on a long walk through the cemetery, giving me time to rest on the bench and reflect, after I had tended the graves.  Bob returned and sat next to me, and Zoe settled on the graves.  First she rested near where my mother's left arm would be, and then she stretched out by my dad's side.  It was almost as if she knew what she was doing.  It was a sweet thing for Bob and I to carry in our hearts.