~and you know that I will~

I made a quick trip north to Reno County yesterday.  It wasn't one of those times when I had a real need to go home for any specific purpose.  Mostly I just wanted to take a drive and so while Mike was at work, that's just what I did.  From our new home here in Kay County, Oklahoma it is only a short 5 minute journey to the Kansas line.  From there it's another hour and 45 minutes to make it to the part of the state where I come from. 

 While there, I did the usual things like drag Kansas Avenue in my hometown of Haven, Kansas.  I drove through Yoder, the small Amish community where I taught 15 years back in the early part of my career in education.  In Hutch I stopped at the ETC Shop, a wonderful thrift store that is run by the Mennonite churches of the area.  It's one of my favorite places to go when I am back there, and as usual I found some good buys that I couldn't pass up.  The time went quickly by and as the clock made it to the 4:45 hour, I decided it was time to start for Newkirk.

 On the way home, I took a moment to stop at the cemetery where my dear sister Sherry is buried.  Laurel Cemetery is nestled  in the countryside between Haven and Yoder.  It's a peaceful place and a wonderfully pastoral setting, with only the muffled sounds of traffic going by on 96 Highway and the occasional clip-clop sound of horses pulling an Amish buggy traveling by going east or west on the gravel road.  We took Sherry's body there in the summer of 2017 and on that hot June day, we said our farewells to someone very precious and special.

 I go there every time that I am back home, keeping a promise that I made to her before she passed that I'd be sure to visit her as often as could.  I've had some interesting conversations with Sherry when she was alive as together we tried to solve the problems of the day.  Our conversations these days are rather one-sided now, and I can just imagine her saying to me~
"Hey Peggy, you just do the talking.  I'll do the listening."
I must have had plenty on my mind yesterday and as I pulled up a chair on my side of our grave marker, I began to pour my heart out to her.  I told Sherry that I missed her and that I wished she was still here.  I told her about the new house and how the school year was going.  I let her know that I was hopeful that my new teaching assignment for next year would work out just fine for me.  Then I just sat there in the silence and that was ok too.  When I left, I looked back and called out to Sherry something that she has heard me say so many times before.
"You know I'll be back to visit you!"
And I will be.
 Laurel Cemetery~Haven, Kansas
Ft. Sill National Cemetery~Elgin, Oklahoma

I'm so thankful for the caretakers of the two cemeteries where Wes and Sherry are now laid to rest.  God bless the folks who take care of these most sacred places.  

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