I went to Lakewood Cemetery today with my cemetery buddies, Lori and Teresa. Lakewood is a beautiful cemetery not far from where I grew up and I have fond memories of taking occasional walks through there with my older sister, Leslie. Teresa and I also had an informal “funeral” there over 40 years ago as we said our goodbyes to an elderly woman she’d known. Good times!
I’ll do a Grave Musings post soon about our time at Lakewood, but this post is more about our “lunch with Leslie.” Both Lori and Teresa had done their homework and knew the section where Leslie’s marker is, so when lunchtime came, we drove over there and after a few minutes of looking over all the flat markers, we found hers. We set up our chairs in a nice shady spot nearby and had our lunch. It’s such a lovely spot.
Leslie was five years my senior; she died of cancer at age 33. I’d love to share a couple of my memories, so you can get a glimpse of her. This is part of what cemeteries are all about – the memories of those who are buried there.
When Leslie and I were both in the church choir that our mom was directing, we had a hard time staying serious. If one of us started giggling about something, the both of us were gone and we’d shake with silent laughter, hoping no one was noticing. Mom noticed and eventually separated us (Leslie was in college by this time; I was in high school). One time, the pastor gave a sermon, at the end of which he told the congregation that we should each tell someone that we loved them. Leslie and I felt extremely uncomfortable at this prospect and after a moment’s consultation, we decided to slip out of the sanctuary by a side door, so we wouldn’t have to face anybody. The plan went smoothly until we opened the back door and went through to find ourselves alone in a little alcove with the pastor himself! He promptly said, “I love you,” and after an awkward moment (writhing in discomfort), I finally mumbled, “me too.” As soon as he left, we laughed until we cried.
When I was in college, I took a ballroom dance class and toward the end of the quarter, we were paired up with someone and were supposed to come up with 3 original variations to one of the dances for the final. The guy I was dancing with was never available to work on this, so finally in a panic I went to Leslie for help. She spent some time dancing with me (I remember working out one routine in a public bathroom somewhere!) and between us we made up all three variations, although my contribution to this was quite a bit less than hers. She was always available to help me if I got into a bind and was generous with her time and talents.
Well, as Captain America is fond of saying, “I could do this all day!” I’m so thankful for the treasure house of memories I have of Leslie and now you know a little bit about her, too.
I’ll probably delete this in the morning.
Lynniebeemuseoday 