From Tomes to Tombs

Every week I participate in “Stream of Consciousness Sunday”, hosted by Fadra of AllThingsFadra.com. The idea is to type for 5 minutes, a brain dump of sorts, and then to publish without editing the writing at all.

We went to the library yesterday afternoon, around 12:30pm. The girls had just settled into looking for books, David was looking at the CDs and I had just curled up into a comfy chair to flip through a knitting book when the librarian announced that the library was closing. Closing? At 1pm on a Saturday? Pretty silly, if you ask me… the library normally closes at 5pm Monday though Saturday, but apparently this was their “summer hours”. If you ask me, the library should be open MORE hours in the summer, not less… but no one bothered to ask my opinion on the matter.

We left the library with our few books and headed downtown. The intention was to hit the art museum and wander around, but the girls were a little too energetic for that. Instead we ended up at the large cemetery downtown – Springwood Cemetery. It’s a peaceful and beautiful place, with lots of hills to tire out little legs.

I was figuring the girls would be bored within minutes, but they were fascinated with the tall and very old headstones, and we ended up wandering for a good 2 hours in the heat, before calling it a day. We found lots of old names from our city, as well as my great-grandparents’ graves. It was a surprisingly beautiful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

http://northonharper.com/ Alexis

I actually spent some time in a German graveyard today. Here in Germany the experience is completely different than US…. so much more, well, lively.
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ eatherhaelo

I love the graveyard at St. Michael’s church in Charleston, SC. It’s just jam-packed with history and fascinating stories. I’m going to have to walk through again, the next time we’re there. It’s been too long and you’ve reminded me how much I enjoy the cemetery in downtown Charleston.
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

That would be so amazing to me, to visit a Parisian cemetery and see Jim Morrison’s or Chopin’s grave site.
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

Same here… the library used to be open later in the summer and on
weekends, not closed earlier! That’s no way to encourage kids to put
down the electronics and read during their school vacations!
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

That is so awesome about the twins Tanya! Wow, I’d love to see that!
Thank you for sharing the story with me, I’ll have to pass that on to my
girls.
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

Exactly, and then you leave wondering about each person, their story and their descendants.
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

I’m intrigued… more lively eh? I’d love to hear more… or see pictures even!
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

I knew my great-grandparents were buried at that cemetery but I hadn’t
seen their graves since I was young, maybe 10 or 12. The girls thought
it was so cool that they “knew” someone there, that their family was
there. It started a nice conversation about those members of the family
that are long since passed.
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

I love the graveyard at St. Michael’s church in Charleston, SC. It’s
just jam-packed with history and fascinating stories. I’m going to have
to walk through again, the next time we’re there. It’s been too long and
you’ve reminded me how much I enjoy the cemetery in downtown
Charleston.
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

I’ll bet your boys would enjoy it… I was amazed at how much my kids
enjoyed looking at the dates. They were awed by the really old dates –
people born in the 1700s and such!
Suzannah

If you go on Find a Grave and start with your mother’s grandparents, Heather, you can see all the headstones and learn what cemeteries your ancestors are buried in as they are linked in a family tree through Find a Grave. Then, when you have the time and gas, you guys could explore the cemeteries one by one and the girls could see many of their ancestors graves and begin to piece together who and where they are now. And on Find a Grave you can leave flowers and notes for each ancestor on their memorial pages. The girls might like it.
Suzannah
Suzannah

If you go on Find a Grave and start with your mother’s grandparents, Heather, you can see all the headstones and learn what cemeteries your ancestors are buried in as they are linked in a family tree through Find a Grave. Then, when you have the time and gas, you guys could explore the cemeteries one by one and the girls could see many of their ancestors graves and begin to piece together who and where they are now. And on Find a Grave you can leave flowers and notes for each ancestor on their memorial pages. The girls might like it.
Suzannah
http://destinymanifest.blogspot.com/ Heather O.

I knew my great-grandparents were buried at that cemetery but I hadn’t
seen their graves since I was young, maybe 10 or 12. The girls thought
it was so cool that they “knew” someone there, that their family was
there. It started a nice conversation about those members of the family
that are long since passed.
http://northonharper.com/ Alexis

I actually spent some time in a German graveyard today. Here in Germany the experience is completely different than US…. so much more, well, lively.
http://www.thedestinymanifest.com/ Heather O.

The girls would love that! I was surprised by how much they enjoyed our cemetery trip, and they are very interested in hearing about their ancestors. This would make very cool recurring day trips!