It was consoling to find my great-grandmother's grave site two years ago. My grandparents took me with them to place flowers at the various cemeteries where family had been laid to rest, yet I was so young at the time I couldn't recall whose grave sites we visited, or their locations. Information disappears over the years and then it's difficult to trace down people that may be able to add another piece to the puzzle.
Walking a little further along the cemetery grounds this past Memorial Day, we found another family member whose grave remained unadorned. It could be his family have moved away, or there were no successive generations, or like my family, the information was inadvertently forgotten. Knowing how much it meant to me to finally find a loved one, I wondered about bringing more flowers next year to place on some grave sites that have nothing. I would have been grateful if someone had done it for my great-grandmother.
Family is so mobile today: you have to go where the jobs are, or someplace other than the area you grew up in is an adventure. And then there's family that have been called home. Because time and circumstance have set some of us apart, I consecrate myself and my family each morning to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I know no one prays like a Mother!
2 comments:
As one who does genealogy and feels that the preservation of the family is one of the most important things to our society, second only to the preservation of our faith, I find your post to be quite touching. Visiting cemeteries was something we did as a family when I was a child and now that I no longer live near any of those places, I miss those visits -- maybe more as I grow older -- so I know how you feel.
Hi Boyett. You stated it beautifully; they are riches unlike any other. I never appreciated how much peace my grandparents received in tending to the grave sites until we began carrying on the tradition for them. Prayer joins you with your loved ones, even though you've moved away and can't visit the cemeteries. God Bless
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