The Most Precious

Bell Chimes.  1982.  One of the most precious.  My first Hallmark ornament, and it was from my mother.  I'm guessing that she probably got it at an after-Christmas sale and saved it carefully for the next year.

My mother died December 19, 1985, so this happened toward the end of her life.  My dad, December 20, 2002.  As his life wound to a close, I wondered whether he would pass on the same date as my mother, but he got his own day.

To check the dates, I looked at a website that showed their monument at the cemetery.  It seems a little strange to me, but I can see that such things would be invaluable to people checking their genealogy.  

And then, because I could, I looked up my grandmother, Emma, my dad's mother.  I never knew her.  1877-1938, so she would have been 61.  I always heard that she died fairly young, but sixty-one isn't all that young.  She had five children fairly close together.  Baked pies on Saturday and put them to cool on the Hosier cabinet that sits in my dining room.

All right, strange ramblings for the holiday season.