February 26, 2010

My grandfather died when I was four years old and he was buried in the cemetery a block away from my grandparents’ house. At that time, my grandmother purchased a double plot and had her name and birth date engraved on the headstone along with my grandfather’s dates of birth and death. My parents later bought my grandparent’s house so my grandmother could move to a warmer climate. So looking back at my childhood, my grandfather’s headstone with my grandmother’s missing date has always been present in my memories. I would walk through the cemetery on my way to school, play hide-and-seek there, and talk to my grandfather while wondering what date would be used to complete the headstone. My grandmother eventually stopped visiting my grandfather because her engraved name and birthday would mock her, waiting for the final date. Now I know.