Easter Weekend 2023

I had hoped to bury my mother's ashes, as well as the ashes of her three pugs, on Easter weekend. I had a yes from eight family members. Alas, it wasn't meant to be since my sister wouldn't cooperate. No matter how old we get, some things never change. And so the Lord showed me that I should take the high road and give in to the goathead. That's what my granny called mulish and difficult behavior. So my sister can bury mother and the pugs whenever she wants. I'm glad we were undeterred from spending the holiday weekend over in southeast Texas with our girls, visiting with friends, seeing the new monument at the cemetery and eating at some of our favorite places.

 

 

Although the whole state really needed rain, it wasn't a barrel of monkeys making the almost five hour drive in on-and-off showers. The girls and our future son-in-law pulled into Texas' famous Bucees for a pit stop en route from Austin and saw the beaver since it was a holiday weekend. I love me some Bucees t-shirts and beaver nuggets.

After lunch at one of our favorite restaurants on Saturday, we zipped out to my old hometown. We drove the kids - they'll always be kids even though they're grown - around to show them where I attended school. Where our trailer house used to be. Where an old school friend's parents still live that they know. After strolling down memory lane, we went over to the cemetery to see mother and granny's joint monument. It was as pretty in person as I pictured it. I brought along an iron stake I had purchased to hold a floral wreath to pretty it up for spring.

The girls asked where the little weathered angel came from at the foot of granny's plot. They had no idea their sweet Poppy, Jason's dad, set it there for us about twenty years ago. Next we went over to visit my mother's childhood friend, Glynda. They grew up across the street from each other. No matter the miles or life circumstances, they stayed close their whole lives. As an only child, she was like the sister my mother never had. She was sweet enough to keep a couple extra wreaths and stake I ordered when the ones I placed go missing or get ratty looking. 

It was a quick trip, but I'm glad we made it. We stayed in a VRBO and early Saturday around sunrise I heard a mourning dove. Doves have special meaning for my mother and granny, and you can see I had them incorporated into the design on their monument. I got a bit teary, thinking about how much mother would have enjoyed this visit back to her old hometown that holds so many memories. I'm  mystified that it seems like she has been gone for a decade rather than just fifteen months. Yet the truth is she's never far away. Because every time I look at my beautiful girls and their mannerisms, I see my sweet granny and mother reflected in both of them. And I thank God for that blessing.