Greenwood Cemetery in Eustis, Florida Two days before Christmas, my son, Benjamin and I traveled from Tampa, Florida to Eustis to visit the graves of my mother, sister and brother-in-law, Charlie. All of them died in the past ten years - Peggy a little over a year ago.
If you're like me, a cemetery isn't your favorite place to hang out, so spending some of the precious time I had visiting Ben was a sacrifice and one I didn't much look forward to. But it was Christmas, and the spirit was upon us. With that in mind, we bought some artificial poinsettia plants and set out to retrace the sad journey we had made last year.
When we arrived, it dawned on us that we didn't know exactly where the cemetery was - or for that matter even its name. Eustis is a relatively small town, but being in Florida, we discovered it has a lot of cemeteries.
After driving around a bit, we finally recognized the place and thankfully found our dear ones' graves. We proceeded to clean around the tombstones, deposited our decorations, said some prayers and were ready to depart - or so I thought.
That's when my son said he had to get something from the car. He returned carrying a blanket, a bottle of Lambrusco and two glasses. When I gave him a puzzled look, he said the wine was Charlie's favorite. We poured a bit of wine on each grave, toasted them and sat down to enjoy the Florida sunshine and spent the next half hour or so enjoying the wine, reminiscing and telling them how much we love and miss them.
I'm so glad we did that and so grateful for a thoughtful and sensitive son who made a sad journey memorable and even pleasant. We'll visit again the next time I'm in Tampa. I not only look forward to it, but will know exactly where to find them. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my dear departed loved ones. You are gone but not forgotten.
If you're like me, a cemetery isn't your favorite place to hang out, so spending some of the precious time I had visiting Ben was a sacrifice and one I didn't much look forward to. But it was Christmas, and the spirit was upon us. With that in mind, we bought some artificial poinsettia plants and set out to retrace the sad journey we had made last year.
When we arrived, it dawned on us that we didn't know exactly where the cemetery was - or for that matter even its name. Eustis is a relatively small town, but being in Florida, we discovered it has a lot of cemeteries.
After driving around a bit, we finally recognized the place and thankfully found our dear ones' graves. We proceeded to clean around the tombstones, deposited our decorations, said some prayers and were ready to depart - or so I thought.
That's when my son said he had to get something from the car. He returned carrying a blanket, a bottle of Lambrusco and two glasses. When I gave him a puzzled look, he said the wine was Charlie's favorite. We poured a bit of wine on each grave, toasted them and sat down to enjoy the Florida sunshine and spent the next half hour or so enjoying the wine, reminiscing and telling them how much we love and miss them.
I'm so glad we did that and so grateful for a thoughtful and sensitive son who made a sad journey memorable and even pleasant. We'll visit again the next time I'm in Tampa. I not only look forward to it, but will know exactly where to find them. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my dear departed loved ones. You are gone but not forgotten.
Peggy & Charles Lanizzani, my sister and brother-in-law
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