When I took a trip recently to spend some time in solitude, I had the time and opportunity to visit my grandparents' grave for the first time since they were buried. I bought some fake flowers and headed to Stuart, OK. The impressive main street of Stuart is apparently deserted on the weekend. I think I saw one other vehicle as I drove through the center of town. I went to elementary school at the end of this street from Kindergarten through 3rd grade, so I know the town well. Looks like things have slowed down a bit since I was a kid.
To get to the cemetery, you pass through Stuart (which takes about 15 seconds) and drive a long way on a gravely dirt road. The Rock Creek Cemetery has been around a loooooong time. There are many old graves in this quiet peaceful place in the middle of nowhere.
I placed my flowers and cleaned up the site a bit before sitting down to a picnic lunch. Not only my grandparents, but two sets of great-grandparents and one pair of great-great grandparents are buried here, among other old relatives as well. It is truly a family cemetery. I spent about an hour in the quiet of that place, marveling about family lines and history and thinking about my own children's future.
I'm thankful for all the people who came before me. They each had their own struggles, imperfections, triumphs, and defeats, but through their lives my own came into being. It's a long line of people just doing the best they can. And it continues today through me and my kids and one day through their kids, too.
To get to the cemetery, you pass through Stuart (which takes about 15 seconds) and drive a long way on a gravely dirt road. The Rock Creek Cemetery has been around a loooooong time. There are many old graves in this quiet peaceful place in the middle of nowhere.
I placed my flowers and cleaned up the site a bit before sitting down to a picnic lunch. Not only my grandparents, but two sets of great-grandparents and one pair of great-great grandparents are buried here, among other old relatives as well. It is truly a family cemetery. I spent about an hour in the quiet of that place, marveling about family lines and history and thinking about my own children's future.
I'm thankful for all the people who came before me. They each had their own struggles, imperfections, triumphs, and defeats, but through their lives my own came into being. It's a long line of people just doing the best they can. And it continues today through me and my kids and one day through their kids, too.
2 comments:
I'm very much into family history. I have to know the story of your grandparents. They lived long lives but died just days apart. Is there a story there?
Great photos, B. Do you think there was anyone still living there you went to school with? Would have been fun to meet up with them. And I am curious about your grandmother's middle name. Do you know anything about that?
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