Hometown visit

Mom had an unusual request yesterday. She wanted to go to Payson and visit the cemetery! I have no idea what planted that thought in her mind. We rarely go except on Memorial Day, and even then it's a struggle for her.

It was a cool but pleasant Saturday, so we drove down this afternoon. It ended up being a 2-hour trip by the time we got back. The cemetery was the first stop:

Mom asked first why there were two Kenison markers, and why the first one was crooked (it has settled unevenly). She had a hard time remembering who Uncle Albert was, but knows that Anna is still alive. We brought some small Christmas flowers, and she spent a long time looking at our gravestone.

Mom was not too happy about the cemetery. She said she didn't want to be put "down there" (in the ground), especially in Payson. She wanted us to move her grave to Provo instead!

She considered the dates on the marker, and was astonished that it's been 44 years since Daddy died. She said she has a hard time remembering much about him. She saw the wedding date in 1952, and couldn't believe she was alive then. She says the only thing she remembers about the wedding was that Harold B. Lee, who performed the sealing, gave her advice and she remembers only one thing: to cook good meals for her husband!

After driving around the cemetery, we did a little tour of town. I tried to help her recall schools, stores, churches, and especially the homes of families who lived in our neighborhoods. She had a hard time recognizing anything at all, but would often remember people once I mentioned the names.

Our own house looked good, and Mom thought it was one of the nicest homes in the area. But she had no memories of living in it. However, as I pointed out details, she remembered them — the landscaping, the neighbors, the clothesline on the side of the house, the area in the back yard where we used to have a garden (now a house has been built on the lot). Sidewalks around the yard are new.



It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. I believe these "field trips" are good for Mom, in spite of her protestations; and I certainly enjoy going back to Payson myself. When she's the one to suggest it, I'm eager to try to support.

I recorded a video as we drove in our neighborhood. It can be viewed by clicking here (it was too large to embed directly in this post). I wish I could have recorded more of Mom's impressions; I'll try to do that more in the future.