Whispering Willows

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Holiday Mission

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic these days.

This time of year tends to bring a longing for the idyllic Norman Rockwell feeling.

The Currier & Ives picture-perfect scenery.

Who are Norman Rockwell and Currier & Ives, you ask?

I suppose they could be branded as propaganda for living a life of bliss and utter idealism.

Imagine, if you will, the family- mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, a passel of kids and perhaps the jovial uncle- all spiffed up in holiday attire, laughing and singing carols, while gathered around the dazzling Christmas tree, which is nearly lost in the abundance of neatly wrapped presents piled beneath it. A peek outside, you might see snow sprinkled on the moon lit snow, like powdered sugar on grandma's homemade Aebelskivers.

Of course, I haven't experienced a holiday quite like this in
a
very
long
time
and try as I might,
even when I lived in the snow covered mid-west,
I couldn't replicate this lovely scene.
Not quite.

As a child, My Mom would work hard to create a beautiful Christmas scene, complete with
the sweet aromas of sugar cookies and homemade lefsa
(I won't mention the nose-crinkling odor of lutefisk)
and
we kids would go to bed with visions of sugarplums, definitely doing a jig in our heads.

And, I'm quite certain we heard sleigh bells up on the roof top-- at least twice.

You see, I live in the desert now and
'tis challenging to feel
Bing Crosby's, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas,
or
Baby It's Cold Outside
(one of my personal favs),
because in the desert,
it is neither white nor cold outside.

I do believe,

I will make it my holiday mission,

this

year, to

go out and

recapture that

warm feeling of

f a m i l y and joy and

hope in all things, good.

B e c a u s e, to be t r u t h f u l,
We all need a bit of comfort and

joy.

***
***
***

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Oak Hill Cemetery

"There'll be two dates on your tombstone. And all your friends will

read 'em.

But all that's gonna matter

is that

little

dash between 'em."

I'm a bit late in the posting of my visit to the cemetery near our house in Minnesota.
Youngest son and Hubby accompanied me on my adventure to Oak Hill Cemetery.
I have a confession.
I love visiting cemeteries.
I don't know if you have ever had that feeling?
I'm intrigued with the stories. While they aren't exactly etched into the gravestones, they leave a smidgeon of information for the visitor to create their own hypothesis.

It was a fair hike into the forest, before we came to the tiny, old graveyard.

Lovely fall day, it was!

A very old head stone. I can't quite recall, but I think it dated back to the 1800s.

Simply says

At Rest

Indeed.

I am sure I was being watched.
I felt a cold breath on my neck and I quickly turned around.
Nothing. My imagination.

Right?

The date on this headstone
is

September 11, 1913

I
find dates
to be
very interesting.
Don't you?
For instance, did you know,
1913
was the very year
the world's
richest
bank(st)ers
created the
Federal Reserve?
Just a handful of old men..err..rich old men
created this
private bank.
But, that's
another
conversation.

Carrie Krantz
Born 1885
Died 1909
Only twenty-four years old.
What story would you contrive?

What's that?
I am sure I felt something....
chilly....

Up there?

Time
to
go home.
Youngest son and Hubby
went on ahead
while I snapped photos
and untangled
myself
from the
long boney fingers
reaching up
through
the tall grasses.

But, before I go...
W h a t i s y o u r d a s h?

Are the
few residents
at this
lonely old cemetery
remembered?
Are their stories ever told?

Flowers
at the sites
weren't
to be found.
Where are their families?

“In the space between yes and no, there's a lifetime. It's the difference between the path you walk and the one you leave behind; it's the gap between who you thought you could be and who you really are; its the legroom for the lies you'll tell yourself in the future.”~Jodi Picoult A Change of Heart