Easter Morning Stroll

An Easter morning chat with my daughter made me realize that all of the holidays over the past two years have been marked by a visit to the cemetery. Seven minutes from my door to garden niche, it’s about as convenient as one could wish for. I don’t go for convenience, it truly brings me peace. I suppose it is still hard for me to imagine a holiday without Mom and Dad and even without my sister, beloved and scorned Queen of Chaos that she was to me.

I went there today, watered the purply, fragrant hydrangea I placed there about a week ago, and said an Our Father and a Hail Mary, because I know that Mom would like that. I touched the cool pink marbled surface of their plaques, realizing, for the first time that our surname, Dage, Americanized Chinese, when read backwards, spells “Egad!”  I looked at the dates on all three plaques, 2012, 2012, 2012 and  thought, well, this is fitting – Ye Gods! Egad! What are the odds for all three to depart in the same year? Funny the thoughts that strike you on a quiet, sunny Easter afternoon. Makes one yearn for a simple Easter egg hunt, a dress trimmed in lace, and white patent mary janes of years long past.

As I took a stroll around in the sunshine, I caught sight of a family grouping of gravestones, each with a different saying. My favorite, pictured above was “It’s just as easy to rejoice.”

What does rejoice really mean? To be glad, to thrive, to be well, to be in joy. I quite like that. A good thought to keep in mind, alongside the memories.

Egad! Rejoice!