Celebration Saturday: Memorial Day Memories

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 As we get ready to celebrate Memorial Day, I am celebrating those who came before me in a way they taught me. Every year my mother, grandmother and sometimes my aunt would gather at my grandmother's home and organize flowers.  We would pick peonies from Grandmas bushes. We would go to Aunt Reita's and pick irises. We would also find some lilacs to add to the bunches.  We had saved large juice cans for weeks to hold the various groupings. Each bouquet looked amazing! Then we would take off in cars for the cemeteries where our loved ones were buried.

Today we made those same trips. This time I did not have live flowers, but I did the next best thing. I chose flowers that I thought would look the best in bouquets. We drove from cemetery to cemetery decorating the graves.

Our first stop was at the Alden cemetery which is near the church we used to attend. The graves are of people I knew. This is where my parents' grave is located. I usually get wreaths that have Mom and Dad on them. The church always loads all the kids on a wagon and drives them just up the road to the cemetery on Sunday after church. The children are each given a flag and flower to put on the graves of soldiers. That is why we always spend Saturday decorating the graves. We want them to look nice for the visitors.

We also travel to Butler to the cemetery there to put flowers on my grandparents' grave. This time my cousin had already been there with flowers, but we just added to it. We had individual flowers this time. I wanted a red, white, and blue theme, so that's what I bought. The town celebrates Memorial Day with a parade on Monday, so again, I wanted it to look nice.

Also at this cemetery is my uncle. He has a grave close to the entrance and we can always find it. I know my cousin, his son will put something on his grave, but I like to do something, too. This is our last stop of the day. Each time we stop we get the gallons of water and a brush out of the trunk. My husband cleans off the moss or the dirt so the stones shine.

This is our celebration for Saturday. A way to remember those who mean so much to us. A time to think back on old memories and keep the flame alive. I love this tradition!