Christmas at the Cemetery...huh?

Who knew the world of death and cemeteries opened up so many get-togethers to celebrate those who have departed from us. As you may know from prior posts, Max's Grandpa Honey passed away this past June. It was and still is a source of grief and sadness in our family. Max talks about Grandpa Honey quite regularly and, thanks to my Mom, he is getting information on the concept of Heaven. And my Mom is Max's personal Catechism teacher which is great for Mark and I. She gave him a Cross to put over his bed. He is praying more regularly and seems to enjoy going to church.

Anyway, back to the cemetery. My father -Grandpa Honey- is buried at All Saint's Cemetery and who knew how many opportunities there were/are after someone has passed away to celebrate their life. (In my more cynical moments, I think it is all a big marketing scam to get more business in pre-planning for death, grave blankets, headstones, etc. But, everyone needs to make a buck and so far the events have been tasteful and enjoyable, so I'll lean away from these types of thoughts when I participate in one of the events.)

Last Saturday, December 5, Max, Grandma Honey, Kyle, Clarence (Max's cousins) and I went to the cemetery for an ornament party (can you say party in relation to a cemetery?). It was a gathering to make natural ornaments to hang on trees near your loved one. We used pinecones, cut-out oranges and bagels and filled them with peanut butter, cranberries, bird seed and raisins. It was a pretty messy event, but fun. And a GIANT turn-out of people. There were even carolers from a local junior high school. They sang songs as people made the ornaments.

There were also fruit loops to string on ribbon to hang like garland...guess who thought the fruit loops were food vs decoration?



The cemetery looks a bit festive with all the wreaths and grave blankets and now the ornaments.


It was actually a pretty good time.