Honoring my ancestors
Two very good things happened yesterday, One, I spent almost the entire day with fangorn which was happy making and battery charging. Two, I did the Easter cemetery run. At Christmas and Easter, I lay decorations on the graves of my family. Some of those people were gone before I was even a twinkle in my parent's eye. Like my great cousin Willie, who died when he was 23 as a result of a head injury sustained while playing basketball. From that day forward, my great grandmother Helen, his mother, never wore green, the color of his uniform. Like great, great grandfather Wilhelm Lehnhoff, who came from Germany through Ellis Island and became a policeman. Like the Sniffins who came from Sweden. I only know these people from the stories of my family. Some of the people I honor, like my Uncle Bobby, Grandma Helen and my dad, are near and dear to me and helped shape me into the woman I am today. Not visiting them to talk to them twice a year at least feels wrong to me. This past Christmas, due to a lot of family upheaval, I did not make it to the cemeteries. I felt guilty and out of sync for not doing it. I'm the only one left in the family willing and capable of making this trip. When Dad passed, he passed the responsibility to me. I realize that this tradition may die with me but doing it gives me great pride. I honor those before me who made me who I am. Be able to do it yesterday and having someone to do it with made the world seem a little more balanced. After Dad died, I usually did the run solo, since Bree, like myself at her age, has little interest in being dragged to 4 cemeteries and a crematorium. Having fangorn along made the trip a little easier. I feel more like the Lehnhoff Sniffin Crayfourd Armstrong I am, having paid my respects to my ancestors. Thank you for paving my way.