My parents are both finally at peace.  I am sitting under a tree at the South Cemetery in Moosomin a few feet from my parent’s final resting place.  This is the closest I have ever been to having them together in my lifetime.   And even though it has to be in a cemetery, I’ll take it.  Just knowing that they are together in any way is wonderful to me.  I do also know that they are together in heaven.   But this physical representation of them together is a little easier for my little human brain to comprehend.  This is such a peaceful place for them.  The neighbors seem to be pretty quiet.  There are a lot of birds chirping and a few squirrels running around.  My Dad has a beautiful yet simple black granite memorial and you can tell that he has been here awhile.  His spot looks quite comfortable.  My Mom has just a small marker close to the ground with her name on it and the bare dirt.  We are hoping to have a matching stone made for her soon.  I’m sure her spot will settle in just fine over time.

There is no doubt that this is where my Mom belongs.  I had heard her talk about the plot beside my Dad several times growing up and in the last few years; she wanted to be buried next to my Dad.  My sister and I had discussed that we wanted to fulfill her wish and had spoken with my Mom’s family members to let them know of our plans; knowing that they would support us.  And then when it came time to make funeral plans with Mom she said that she no longer wanted to be buried out here.  It would be too much trouble and might cost too much.  Well, we quickly told her that we knew how she felt about this and that it wouldn’t be any trouble and the cost was not any of her concern.  She had enough worries, leave this to us.  She didn’t argue any further.  And it wasn’t any trouble at all.  The funeral director who had known my Mom for almost 30 years considered it an honor to drive her here himself.

Moosomin had become my Mom’s town.  She had left the town but part of her heart was left behind.  When you move 6 or 7 hours to another country, get married, plan and start a family, start renovating a home and meet friends your heart has no choice but to stay behind.  She thought she would most likely be living here the rest of her life.  She was settling in and enjoying herself.  She loved her neighbors and she loved the farm.  So, when she left it wasn’t of her choosing.  It was a necessity of her new reality.  She felt she needed to be closer to her family and the memories were just too painful.  But we came back several times a year even after we moved away.  She did her best to keep up with family and friends but with some the memories were just too painful.  Her dream, her future as she had known it was gone.  But Moosomin kept a piece of her heart.  And now her body has finally joined her heart.