A Day of Remembrance, Hope, and Wishes.

Our outing today started with remembrance. Remembrance of my mother and grandmother. First we visited them both at the cemetery. Catherine prepared an overflowing basket of Flawless pink roses she cut from our garden to bring to their graves. She even tied the basket with a perfect silver gray satin bow.

Once there, the kids spread the roses over their grandmother and great-grandmother's resting places. We are still awaiting my mom's headstone, so we just placed her roses where it will be, once in place. It was our first time visiting her since her funeral, two months ago, so it was painful for me. But I was grateful to have the kids with me because we all know the levity children bring to any situation. Thank God for their company and support.

After visiting with my mom and grandma, we walked around the grounds of the cemetery and took in the beautiful surroundings and crisp winter day. We especially enjoyed looking at the festive and ornate Christmas decorations placed on many of the graves by loving family members.

From there we headed to Descanso Gardens, which is fairly close to the cemetery. We started out at the Wishing Tree, installed especially for this particular holiday season. We walked through the maze of thousands of wishes written by the many visitors to the gardens over the past month. We read many of them and enjoyed the breadth of thoughts and wisdom. Some were political, others philosophical, and some just plain silly written by small children. Some were funny, others touching, but all were heartwarming. It was a truly moving way to close out this difficult year.

After the Wishing Tree we headed to the Camellia Forest to enjoy the first blooms of the season. There were so many extraordinary varieties to take in, all in shades of pink and white. We ended our visit at the Rose Garden, one of my favorite spots, to enjoy the last blooms of the season there. I haven't felt that relaxed in months.

We stayed until the gardens closed and the sun started to set. It was a magical day.

I imagine my mother and grandmother sitting on this bench together, amid the roses, enjoying this sunset. Rest in peace.