Thicker Than Water

Every Memorial Day for the past.....I don't know how many years, we take the boys to the cemeteries where my grandparents are buried to place flowers at their headstones.  It is a family tradition that they look forward to every year.  We have two cemeteries we go to and then we go out to breakfast.  They have loved running through the flags at Sunset Memorial Gardens since they started walking.  

This holiday always reminds me of my grandparents and the relationship I had with them.  I never knew my maternal grandmother because she passed away long before my parents had children.  Both of my grandfathers died in 1984 and my paternal grandmother passed away a few years later.  By the time I was 14 years old I had no living grandparents.  I have always been envious of people who were able to have a relationship with their grandparents in their adult years.  I am thankful for good relationships with my aunts and uncles that have filled in the gap that I had from losing my grandparents.  

 
 
 I watch my sons with their grandparents (both sets), aunts, uncles, and cousins and I am so appreciative that our family is close. It takes time, effort, energy and sometimes even forgiveness to stay connected with family, but the payoff is more than worth it!

Walter and Mable Lattin (my paternal grandparents)

My Dad's Uncle Oscar served in World War II.

Earl and Mary Lou Kirkwood (my maternal grandparents)
Grandpa Kirkwood  wanted to serve in WWII but was denied due to having 4 daughters.