We picked the perfect time to head down to southern Missouri/northern Arkansas this past weekend for the annual cemetery spruce up and lunch with Ray and Angie. The leaves at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Harrison could NOT have been more spectacular. Seriously though. The reds, yellows, oranges, browns – were laid out over our heads and under our feet. It was magical. This marks the 12th year we have held this annual ritual. Some years it has been all of the Moss kids and our individual families, other years it’s just a few of us. No matter who is able to participate, it always feels right.
There is always some trimming, scrubbing, removal of old flowers, arranging of new flowers, and of course my favorite part… sitting in dad’s old lawn chair and my chair from the masters golf tournament and having lunch. Just sitting, hanging out, maybe a story or two, enjoying the moments. This year Chris made the best roast beef, cheddar, mayo/mustard, lettuce, whole wheat bread, sandwiches. No skimping on the mayo. A cold bottle of iced tea, Cheetos AND potato chips.
Chris and I kept looking at each other while we ate, remarking no less than 25 times on how absolutely perfect THIS year was. The colors, the weather, the whole of it.
We generally stay at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri when we go. They have marvelous walking trails that I can hit the minute I roll out of bed in the morning, plus cabins with decks for sitting, staring, watching squirrels and birds. Nothing more exciting than that.
The fall decorations are beautiful and of course there is the annual Moss Family Putt-Putt tournament. Which I may have won this year. There were only 2 participants, making it a bit less cut-throat. That does not mean that skill and cunning were not required.
Dottie had the idea to start this way back when. It continues to be something we look forward to every single year.
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