Mauve Rhodie

Memorial Day weekend has arrived. You didn't have to tell me. The sight and aroma of our front rhododendrons told me this was true. For us, this is always the time to get the remainder of the garden in and take the journey to St. Hyacinth's Cemetery in Westbrook and fill the planters on the Gallant plot with geraniums. Like I did with Mom and Dad, J- comes along with us and does all the 'heavy lifting'. It's a ritual that's important to him; I find this comforting. I stop here a lot, especially early Sunday mornings. I find cemeteries so beautiful at dawn and dusk. Sometimes when I stop, I'll read the paper, roll the windows down and let some music drift through the cool air or just sit and remember simple things: summer evenings on the Main Street porch with a dilly bar clutched in my tiny hands, those early morning swift car rides back from the old FHS with the windows all down or those rides to school on rainy days. I miss them all and more, but am just so happy they are all a part of me, today.