Memorial Day

Jon and I had talked about taking the boys around to the different cemeteries where most of our relatives are buried.  We both remember going around with our parents doing the same thing and thought it would be a good idea to take the boys.  I know that they had been to most of the places, but also know that they had never been up to where my grandparents are buried.  I always liked doing this as a kid - it made me ask questions about those people that I never knew - questions I may never would have asked had we never been taken there.  I was hoping this would help our kids to ask those questions to learn more about their great grandparents.  We started off at Union Mills Cemetery.  Here we were able to "visit" TJ, Uncle Todd and many Ferguson relatives.  It was raining - so we didn't stay long.  Next was Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa.  While there we saw Grandpa Boender, Aunt Delores and some other non relatives.  We grabbed a bite to eat and headed onto Leighton Cemetery where Grandpa and Grandma Goemaat are.  There were also others we saw that I never knew were there.  Our last stop took us all the way to Collins, IA where my Grandma and Grandpa Carson, my cousin Michael and Aunt Mildred are.  While we were in Collins we drove by my Grandpa's place and showed the boys where I used to go when I came to visit my Grandpa.
It may seem odd, but it is always interesting to go to the cemetery.  I always like to see what people put on their stones.  How old people were and the other little bit of information you can find out about someone all from their stone.  I also like how going to these places floods your mind with all the memories you have of that particular person.  After stopping in Collins, I had so many stories to tell my kids about my Grandpa Carson.  Some of them weird memories I have, while others are very fond ones.  I often wonder what kind of memories are my kids making to one day tell their kids.