Trudy Tibbitts Roberts: Memorial Weekend

We dropped off pansies this year at Del's parents and grandparents graves.
His mom and grandmother loved pansies.
This is a set of pansy and poppy tags I painted for a neighbor friend.

For the last 3 hours my heart has been smiling! On Friday and Sunday we decorated graves, and today, on Memorial Day, Del and I took off on our new bikes. At Tautphaus Park we read a memorial of Charles C. & Sarah Tautphaus, founder of the park. While riding in and through and around the park we spotted Charles’ grave in Rose Hill Cemetery, adjacent to the park (the same cemetery we visited with flowers yesterday for my grandparents and 3 stillborn siblings).

At Community Park, while on the bike/walking path, I noticed a painted rock hid in the base of a tree and then another. Intrigued, we stopped our bikes to look more closely. Excited about the find, I stopped a mother and daughter to tell them about it, only to see them with four or five painted rocks in their hands. They save their favorite rocks, re-hide the others, and paint and hide enough rocks to replace the ones they keep. Apparently 7,000 people in Idaho Falls participate in this, simply for the pleasure “to brighten someone’s day”. It brightened my day! Facebook and rock groups have popped up all over the nation! I had no idea!

As we continued on our bikes I saw what appeared to be children and grandchildren planting flowers in their grandmother’s yard, other’s gathering flowers (perhaps to take to the graves), another working in her garden, people walking, and an uncommon quietness in the neighborhoods. (Perhaps quiet due to decorating graves, picnicking with family, or on a 3-day weekend vacation?)

We stopped for a Subway sandwich, then onto Cold Stone to share a “Gotta Have It” banana and raspberry sorbet with gummy bears! (Thanks Josh and Stephanie for the Cold Stone gift card!)

What a beautiful way to spend today!!