Friday, January 14, 2011

In Memory and In Honor

Today we honored the life of my uncle
 Ross Sowers.
My Dad's brother

He was invloved with Live Steamers.
(Small Trains.)
The last song for his service was
Perfect song for him.
And just as the song ended
A train in the distance could be
heard blowing its whistle as it came into Lincoln.
A sign that brought smiles and giggles
to loved ones sitting there.
Perfect timing..perfect ending.
Love sent from above.

We came back to Decatur
And the family gathered around
to honor the second one to have passed.
Roses were handed to the loved ones there.
And a thought was mentioned
to honor the oldest brother
who had passed 2 years 2 months before.

And with that thought,
a quick trip was made
to place a rose
upon the others grave.

It was hardly a surprise to me
as we drove into the cemetary 
 to see before us
a red tail hawk
circling against the blue sky.

Perfect timing...perfect ending.
Love sent from above.

(My sign for Dad is the red tail hawk)

Thursday, January 13, 2011

I Remember When.....

For years I had thought of writing a few of my favorite memories in a card to give to Mom and Dad. I wanted to let them know that simple times held the best memories for me.

I decided to involve the whole family with a perfect gift for Mom and Dad that came from this idea.
I found an unusual jar and labeled it Memories, Smiles and Treasures. I sent several slips of paper to each family member with instructions to write "I remember..." moments with Marv and Evelyn and sign their name to each slip. Some wrote out a lot of memory slips, others wrote out one of two.

Both of my parents birthdays are in July so we picked a day in between and set it up for a family get together. I gave them the empty jar and told them they needed to fill it with special memories. Mom and Dad took a few moments thinking of what in the world they could put into this jar. Then I told them we would help them fill it. Each one of us put our "I remember" slips in the jar. We had nearly 200 memory slips!

That day a few slips were pulled out and read. There were smiles and laughter. There was astonishment at events that were remembered. There were tears as love was recognized. Memories read brought renewed memories for others or a new memory to be wrote out and shared later on. Everyone enjoyed this time of sharing  memories of Marv and Evelyn...
                              of Mom and Dad....
                                     of Grandma and Grandpa.

 Mom and Dad were instructed to take a couple of "I remember" slips out to read every day. It took them 3 months to go through the jar. And then they started all over again. Sometimes they would come across a new memory that someone had secretly added. It was a continuing joy.

When Kayla was 2 she joined us in this tradition.
Every Wednesday when she was at "Sowers" and Grandma's she would pass out the I remember when's. Everyone would read one and then Kayla in her sweet little girl voice would read hers...."I remember all the time" (Ah..I can hear her sweet voice now)

Some of our memories:
Marvin (son)" I remember... Dad coming back from Florida with oranges and teaching everyone a dance called the Twist."

Sheryl (daughter) "I remember...all the stars at Tall Tree Lake where we camped. I'm so glad Mom and Dad took me there."

Stephen (grandson)" I remember...Grandpa and Grandma's last jeep. I hated to see it sold. I remember Grandpa saying we would have visitation rights."

Cindy (granddaughter)" I remember...my first plane ride. Mom and I went up in a small plane with Grandpa. We got to see our house and all around Decatur."

Keri (granddaughter)" I remember...going to the state fair every year with Grandma and Grandpa. We got to ride the Skyline and spend $5."

Crisite (granddaughter) "I remember....that I love my grandparents so much and I always will."

With the grandkids there was one memory that they each wrote.
"I remember...Grandpa taking us to the donut shop. After we ate our donut we could buy a piece of bubble gum. Sometimes Grandpa would buy a donut to take home to Grandma. But when we would get home we would sneak downstairs and eat her donut. "

It truly was a gift that kept on giving
for years and years.

A wonderful gift of memories.