Day 12: In Memory

Last night was restful, if uneventful. We finished our season of Cobra Kai, which was exciting. There was much butt-kicking and silliness. I remember some very sleepy feedings at 4 AM and 7 AM. After the 7:00 one, I was awake and went to pick up our grocery order from the store. With Sabrina's help, I was able to put groceries away, do some dishes, laundry, and other chores before heading out to Mom and Dad's house. 

Mom and Dad have, for almost 30 years, been tending to a family grave in town-- that of a stillborn nephew of mine named Gabriel. The last few years have sadly added two more graves, including one new one this memorial day. This is a big important undertaking for my parents, but at 85 and 87, it's no longer easy. I promise to take it over once Mom and Dad are done with it, but in the meantime, my job is to be as absolutely helpful as I can. I got to my parents' house to help Dad load their car with tools and flowers. (and 2 walkers!)

Mom puttered around the yard, selecting flowers from her legendary yard. Mom takes flower arrangement very seriously. I helped, carried, and lifted where I could. Next stop was one of 3 cemeteries. At each one, we cleaned up the headstone, and Mom created a unique flower arrangement for each grave. Mom and Dad have been taking care of the baby-grave next to Gabriel every year since noticing that it was becoming neglected, so we did that one too.

I tried my best to be helpful and do whatever physical tasks I could. I let Dad supervise and Mom stick to flowers for the most part.

 

 

Pictured: Dad supervising and Mom doing flowers.

 

you can almost hear them bickering...

Success.

This one was pretty far afield, so we left Dad in the car for this one.

Three loved ones we miss:

After our graveyard adventures, Dad sprung for Burger King and we went home and played a game of cribbage. It was good to be with them for a bit.

This afternoon I came home, exhausted and mosquito-bit, and napped for a few hours. I was awoken by Ida crying in her bassinet. I put her on my chest and we both fell into the deepest of sleeps. 

Fixed up a frozen pizza for the family for dinner and Sabrina and I set to a second application of bleaching each others' hair. I don't have a picture of mine, but I don't think this second application did much. It still looks brassy and Betty still thinks it looks like Ramen Noodles.

While we were bleaching, we tried a new series with the family: Wednesday. The older kids loved it, and it scared Betty.

Sabrina and Ida snuggling to end the day.