Memorial Day

Today my mom and I drove up to Idaho to put flower on the graves of family members. First stop was the cemetery in Blackfoot where my cousin Beau is buried. Then it was out to the Thomas cemetery to give flowers to my uncle, known simply as Crumley, who died in 1994. My mom, who is 16 years younger than her sister that was married to Crumley, remembered him as being kinda mean to her and the younger sisters back in the day. Of course things changed as they got older, and she remembers him fondly.

Then it was on to the Moreland cemetery where mom's parents are buried. They have a lovely, simple headstone with their names engraved and the names of their seven daughters engraved on the back. My mom of course ran into people she knew, as she does every year--her cousin and her sister's in laws.

Afterward we took a drive down Perkes Road, named after the Perkes and their seven daughters who lived off the road, and took a look at the old home. As we drove slowly by it and stopped then turned around, a nice gentleman outside mowing his lawn came over and asked if we were lost. My mom kindly replied that she used to live in that house down that lane and that we were just taking a moment to remember it. Such nice people in small towns.

On the ride up I peppered my mom with questions about her childhood and what her sister's did and what she did. Sometimes it's weird to think that before I ever came along my mom was a child, a teenager, a twenty-something, a girl going to college and working and having fun.