Memorial Day

We left home at 9:00 AM and got home at 9:45 PM.

It was a whole day!

We first went to Walmart because I had been tasked by my mother to buy ten mums.  It was very stressful for a few minutes because I couldn't find any and I thought I was going to be letting down both my mom and all our kindred dead, but I finally found some in the produce section!

We went to four cemeteries.  Marianne wanted me to record on my blog the generations of graves we visited.  Who am I to argue with my sister?

Counting seeing Grandma and Grandpa Dahl in Starr Valley on Saturday, we saw both sets of grandparents' graves.

We saw all four sets of great grandparents' graves.

We saw 6 out of the 8 sets of great great grandparents' graves.

We saw 3 out of the 16 sets of great great great grandparents' graves.

We saw one great great great great grandmother's grave.

I think if we apply ourselves, we could pretty easily see even more.  Our family was mostly pioneers who moved to Utah and stayed put.

Memorial Day will always be about my grandma.  

It was because of her and the tradition she inherited and passed down, we spend Memorial Day in cemeteries.  We tell and retell stories.  We fix it all in our minds again, the relationships between everyone.  We tell our children so they will also know.  We take a picture by the cannon.

Azure, Mason, Desi (it was her birthday so we sang to her several times--and not all that well each time), Mark, Emma, Lucette, Marcos, Omar, Liberty, Nikki, Carolina, Cormac, Ammon, Olivia and Ruben

Marianne and I maintained that our generation isn't in the cannon picture, but Olivia said we were.  I think we sometimes are, but I'm not a fan of pictures so I could wholeheartedly enforce the rule on myself.  I'm not supposed to be in the picture.

Here's who was there at the Murray Cemetery:

We also went to the West Jordan cemetery where we found some great great grandparents for the first time.  We went to the Sandy cemetery and the Crescent cemetery and I love it all.

I know there were a lot more pictures, but Olivia hasn't posted her blog yet, so I can't steal any of hers....

It was particularly nice to spend the day with these two.

My grandma used to buy us all lunch at Golden Corral after the cemeteries.  This time my parents did.  My mom said, "No one really likes it all that much, but at least we can all eat at the same time."

No one goes to Golden Corral for the fine dining, but it is always a good time and I love being together.

After that we went to Saratoga Springs to the temple open house.  It is beautiful and more colorful than most temples I've been in.  I loved the stained glass windows that had lake and reed and mountain and sky motifs incorporated into them.

Most of these people are tall anyway, but we have a whole El Greco elongated thing going on.

After the temple, we went to my grandma's (we traversed that valley, let me tell you!) and helped load up some final things.  Two of my cousins and their wives were there.  They are doing some renovations to prepare the house for my uncle Richard and aunt Launa to live there.

Carolee, my cousin Brice's wife, said to me, "When I was cutting up the carpet and taking down the curtains, I was just praying that Grandma wouldn't be mad at me."

I said I didn't think she would.  I think she would be thrilled to have the house continue to be loved and used.  And Adam pointed out, "She loved new things."

It amounts to the house feeling less and less like my grandma's house and it's a good thing I have her in my heart.  Forever.

From there we went to Adam's cousin Pam's house in Herriman.  His other cousin Kara was there too along with Pam's husband, Shane, son, Bridger, and mom, Jeri.  We ate good food and talked for hours under the grape arbor in their lovely backyard. 

I'm grateful for family and for traditions that remind me of my place in the world.  I'm grateful for those who went before me and for our children and darling QE who follow behind.

Being in the temple together on a day when I had family so much in my mind was particularly meaningful.  I'm grateful for covenants that bind us together.  Forever.