Cemeteries

One of my favorite past times, is going to cemeteries. I know it might sound strange and creepy, but honestly it is neither of those things for me. Perhaps it's because when I was child the neighborhood kids [including me] used to play in the cemetery. There was a big field and we used to play tag, kick the can, red rover red rover, and of course hide and see among the tombstones. Fun times! :o) 

Another reason I may be overly fond of cemeteries is, because visiting them and caring for the graves was part of my upbringing. I lived with my grandmother from the age of 9-19, and she was the family caretaker. Every spring we would trudge over to the cemetery and put flowers in the family plot. No one was neglected, they all received this treatment.Throughout the summer we would maintain the flowers and rake up around the graves to make them 'presentable'. In the fall we would put pumpkins and then in the winter the wreaths would go on. 

It was just a part of my heritage. 

Now that I live away from home, I don't go to the family plot very often. I do however, like to visit other cemeteries. Especially the older ones. If you have never been to an old cemetery, you really should go. It is a mini history lesson, looking at the dates and trying to connect the dots is intriguing.   For example, one family had three children die within days of each other. Sad yes, but the most likely cause was illness. Many times the surrounding graves will also have the same dates on them, which would point to some type of plague. I actually looked up the date and it most likely was small pox. Yes, I am weird. 

If you homeschool, I highly recommend getting out and taking your kids to the local older cemeteries. Not only will they learn not to be afraid of death, but they also can learn a little about another family.