Memorial Day

While Memorial Day originally began to recognize and remember those who have lost their lives while serving in the armed forces, it is now often a time when we remember all of our deceased loved ones who have made an impact in our lives.  My family took the time to visit the graves of my great grandparents yesterday and to reflect on some of our favorite memories with them.

Beki and me with Grandma and Grandpa Nye

Here are a couple of our favorite memories:

• Beki was only 4 when Grandpa Rich died and 9 when Grandma Rich died, so she doesn't have a lot of memories of them.  She remembers visiting Grandma Rich in the nursing home and how Grandma would always let her get a caramel out of the drawer by her bed.
• One of my favorite memories of Grandpa Rich was helping in his beautiful, gigantic garden... especially helping harvest potatoes.  Oh, and picking and eating fresh grapes off the vine.  I also loved Grandma Rich's homemade peanut brittle.  Like how Beki and I both had favorite memories surrounding food? :-)  I also remember sitting on metal rocking chairs out on the front porch of Grandma and Grandpa Rich's home under the carport on nice summer days.
• My mom talked about how Grandma Rich would always say "No Rush" - quite the opposite to how some of us operate!  Also, she told a story about my Grandpa's integrity... Once after getting home from a big family dinner at a buffet restaurant, they were trying to reconcile who owed who money for the bill.  They realized that they had missed paying for a couple meals, so my Grandpa went back to the restaurant to pay for the one or two meals that were missed.