Memorial Day Tales

 

Hello all!

I thought today I would tell you about my escapades over Memorial Day weekend.

 

We started out on Friday with supper with relatives from my Mom's side, and visiting my grandpa's grave. Saturday was spent with my two aunts, a cousin, and my grandma on my dad's side all coming over. First off, we visited the cemetery a couple miles from my house where my aunt and great grandparents are buried. I never knew them. My aunt died when she was seventeen, and my great grandparents were gone before I was born.

After putting flowers out we went to the closed church that they used to attend and took our traditional family picture on the front step. We all packed up after that and went to my house for smoked pork and pie for dessert. Like all good Baptists, we can't get together without a meal. My aunt (who could shame Martha Stewart, I'm just saying) was awesome and brought rhubarb dessert, which is the sole reason I gained two pounds lately.

My parents  had spent the week searching out the names in our family tree, so after eating we set off to some of the neighboring towns and prowled around their cemeteries. We were able to find my relatives back to my great great grandpa on my dad's side (which would date back to the early 1800's). As it turns out, he was a Baptist preacher who fought in the Civil War and had fifteen kids. Apparently my people were also good friends with the Crockett's (one was actually buried right near to my grandpa) As in Davie Crockett. Davie Crockett married a cousin of mine. The Morrow's came from England (by way of Ireland) in the 1500's. The writer in me is just screaming at the working girl part of my to get some inspiration and write a story about these people. Was the Crockett buried there friends with my grandpa? Did they come to Nebraska together as daring young men ready to strike it big? Oh the possibilities! Honestly, a lot of the things in my family's history really remind me of Louis L'amour's Sackett family.

 

Anyway, back on track, we prowled around through old dirt roads and headstones for most of the day and then came home and ate even more till I just wanted to burst asunder, and then talked until bedtime.

 

Sunday we went to church of course and then I went and spent the afternoon with Jarod. A time which involved changing lots of tires, playing with the dog, wishing we were fishing, giggles and awkward silence, and stuffing ourselves with ice cream and banana shakes. I received two phone calls that evening reminding me not to be late for evening church, so me and Jare showed up fifteen minutes early, only to have my parents arrive just barely on time. The evening service had two baptisms- one of which was a little boy from my Sunday school class. It was very special and we had cookies and ice cream afterward (as if I needed any more food) and everyone got to visit.

 

Monday I had work off so we went to the museum and made our way through the live 1800's town they have there. If I ever leave my job at the eye doctor, I will most certainly take my career there. Who wouldn't want to get paid to dress up in old style clothes and pretend to be someone else for a living? It would be perfect!

When we got home we learned how to play horseshoes (they won some, I almost won others- seriously, it was a hard fought battle) and dad grilled us potatoes and burgers.

Our tradition is to watch  The Patriot (cause who doesn't love Mel Gibson?) every Memorial Day, so that is how we wrapped everything up.

 

It was very fun, and like my dad said, we get to do these fun things because of what soldiers have sacrificed since our nation started.