Grandma and Grandpa

When in Middletown, there are now only a few things that I want to do before I leave each trip. That list used to be a lot longer. Now, there are fewer people to catch up with and will (hopefully for my parent's sake) soon even be fewer places to rest my head, but Grandma and Grandpa's place of rest will always be there. When I visit my hometown, visiting them together will be what I want to do first.
I was home for a birth, but needed to stop at the cemetery as well, bringing everything full circle. Woodside Cemetary is a lot bigger than I remember and a lot of changes had been made, so it took me a lot of looking to find that old spot. As I finally pulled up, I immediately recognized the fir tree and saw that there was fresh dirt in front of the headstone on one side. It was just the size for ashes. I brought Jilliann along and planned on having her frolic around in the beautiful Spring filled day to show her off to my grandparents while I "talked" with them. She feel asleep, though, on the way over and I think it was better that way. I was not distracted but fully focused on putting my thoughts and attention towards (to me) the original Knepshields. The dirt had tractor marks over it, so I sat down and ran my hands through the tracks to soften the look and told grandma that they should do a better job up keeping her place and I think she would've agreed. The date of her passing wasn't written in yet and I brushed the cut grass of her headstone. It was nice to talk to Grandma and Grandpa together and tell them what's going on in my life. As I thought about them and how they would respond, I held the tombstone close to me and cried with my forehead pressed hard to the cold stone. Especially with the dirt on my hands and the tears dropping down onto the stone, it felt primal. It felt freeing and it felt good.