Yesterday we went to an area close to Sparta, TN and visited two separate family cemeteries. One where Janette's parents, Scott's Grandparents are buried. His grandmother passed away about 11 years ago. Janette's father had passed away when she was a young girl. It was a small cemetery that consisted of a few different families. Scott had not been there since his grandmother Dollie Mae had passed and it was my first time as well. This is where Charlie got her middle name 'Mae'. We had driven about an hour and a 1/2 to get there and when we pulled in the first thing I noticed was a large table of food. Now all morning I had heard Scott and his parents talk about us 'not staying for lunch' but the thought of having lunch at the cemetery never crossed my mind. This is an annual event here. Families gather together and clean the headstones and markers and visit with family. Janette has 2 sisters, 1 in Arkansas and 1 in Florida, so she didn't really know anyone there and we chose not to participate in lunch. We put some flowers at his grandparents sight and took pictures as we tried to stand in the shade and dodge bugs. Charlie Mae didn't really understand why we were there and never really asked. She kept herself occupied by taking pictures of everything & anything! I was happy to be a part of it as it added another badge to our marriage chapter of our life. Scott was there for me in an amazing way in March when my Grandma decided to leave us here on earth and begin her journey through heaven. It was rewarding in my heart to hold his hand yesterday as he took in the moments and let his heart feel a little bit heavy. It was almost as if I could see the memories in his brain and as they moved across his face with each facial expression as took it all in.
We went a little bit further and ventured to another cemetery that is known as 'Haston Cemetery'. Everyone there is a Haston. Here we visited Ernie's parents and grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. It was a real treat to hear my father in law talk about his family and heritage. Yesterday was not the annual clean up day for the Haston's so there was no lunch... Scott hadn't been there since his Grandpa passed away bout 5 1/2 years ago. Interesting note here is that Charlie Mae was born on Scott's Grandpa's birthday. She was named after my grandfather so its nice how she's connected to everyone in many ways. Also, I found it very interesting that Scott's brother Nat was named the same way. His name is Franklin Nathaniel and Franklin is Janette's daddy's name and Nathaniel is Ernie's dad's middle name... Pretty cool. I had met Scott's grandpa a couple different times and saw him just a few months before he died. He was a farmer and for many years he owned a dairy farm. It was pretty heavy for both Scott and Ernie to drive around that land and not know who lived in his house. However at the same time it was joyful to recall stories of the past and remember where they went fishing and just talk about the fond memories. In fact I have never heard a story about Scott's grandpa, where the person telling it wasn't laughing during the story! And there are many great stories! It was a pleasant Saturday and we all enjoyed spending time together!
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