The Gravesite Masters

When Memorial Day comes around, I start thinking of all the work that needs to be done and I am thankful that I am a grown up now; thankful because that means I don’t have to do it. Growing up, we had a lot of graves to visit and maintain. Many years ago, I started having fresh flowers taken to my grandma’s grave. I did this for her. I have them delivered because I don’t like cemeteries. Sounds weird, but hear me out.

From the time I was 11, I can remember all of grandma’s kids (16 including spouses) gathering at her house one weekend. All of us grandkids would go too, all 32 of us. We would pile into our cars and head to the cemetery. At that point, the kids would run around and look at the headstones and read the various names with a mixture of curiosity and awe. We would make up stories of how the people died and what atrocious crime had led to the death. We would look at the funeral flowers and floral arrangements and read the sympathy wreaths.

The adults would begin cutting weeds, cleaning up and edging the headstones, making sure the old mason jars were not broken and would still hold water and flowers.

(this is the part that grosses me out) When the work was done, someone would call for the kids and we would start delivering home made sandwiches and drinks to the adults and smaller kids. I remember being very disturbed about the whole process and did not like going to the cemetery and I was of the opinion, at the ripe old age of 11, that we had no business EATING there. Ick. Gross. Disgusting. Disturbing.

Fast forward many years. I don’t visit and I don’t clean graves and I don’t do a lot of things I should. However, what I DO do is have fresh flowers sent to my grandma’s grave every year on her birthday and Memorial Day. I do it in memory of grandma. She was the reason we all went up every year in the first place. I do it out of respect. Probably out of a touch of guilt as well.

In the past, I have had to pay a runner to take the flowers up and drop them off at the gravesite. Usually it was a cousin who knew where to go. However, I recently found out there was an actual business whose has taken on the job of delivering arrangements of fresh flowers gravesites across the country! How amazing is that? They will also clean up the headstone and make it all pretty again. The Gravesite Masters offers a whole slew of services that many of us do not want to think about, let alone take care of. They deliver fresh flowers and/or artificial flowers to churches, cemeteries, funeral homes and residences or businesses. Thank goodness, I will never have to worry again that the flowers are delivered and placed where they should be, because I know I can rely upon The Gravesite Masters.