MEMORIAL DAY 2008

On this Memorial Day 2008, Rita and I traveled to Mercer County and Sharon to visit Mom and Dad's burial sites at Oakwood Cemetery. As always this cemetery is a beautiful and peaceful area, well maintained and obvious a lot of family participation in the honoring of their loved ones. You can see the flowers everywhere on the burial sites, special areas for the deceased veterans and visitors. I don't remember the interest in these places of burial of families and individuals, living in the West. I saw so many cemeteries that were overgrown and poorly taken care of but I have not seen one in the East coast. I would guess that it is primarily the fact of history here and the long period of settlement and civil and military conflicts that create the desire to maintain. Families go back a long way and they don't forget those they loved so easy and they reflect it in one way through loving care of their burial sites. You will find small cemeteries behind many of the churches, farms and hidden behind small groups of trees and roadways. They are always clean and the grass is well cut. Often it is only a few who maintain many of them and often unpaid. You will find families, as we did on Saturday sitting by the tombstones or on the grass, some in thought and some just talking over the graves. I saw one family sitting on the grass having their lunch with children and flowers next to them ready to plant or put in place. They seem confortable with the setting and not grim. Homes are built around these places and in fact on the street in Sharon where Mom and Dad are buried you will find Oakwood the best looking area in comparison with the homes around this place of rest. It would seem sometimes that folks take better care of their family resting places then their own homes.

We wanted to take this time to reflect and as Rita and I placed a few memorials and cleaned up the flower areas around Mom and Dad's graves I remembered Mom saying to me years ago, "Will you remember my grave and place flowers there" I said to her at the time that I thought I would be a long way away living in California. Little did I know that I would be again in Pennsylvania when she passed away. I now had this time a few years later to come, visit and leave some memorial there for my parents on behalf of all of us who loved them. One brother said they were "good people" and I guess that is a one way to remember them but most important they were my parents first and last and "good people" they were leaving us with the many loving memories to cherish in our own way.

I am giving you a reflection that I read one day and you may have heard it before but I liked it and maybe someday it can be read at my passing but I thought of Mom and I think she would have liked it.

I'M FREE

Don't grieve for me, for now I am free
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took His hand when I heard Him call,
I turned My Back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To Laugh,To Love, To Work or Play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I found the peace at the close of the day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah, yes these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been so full, I've savored much.
Good friends and family, good times, a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed to you all to brief.
Don't lengthen it now with continued grief.
Life up your hearts and share with me.
God wanted me then and now, He has set me free...

Author Unknown