Grandsons and Graveyards

He missed the whole walk!
I visit my grandson Caine at least once a week. I drive to Bedford and take care of him while his parents work. I like to get him out of the apartment and into the fresh air. I drag the stroller from the back porch, wipe it down and prop Caine up with blankets, strap him in (you'd think he was driving a race car with the harness thing in new strollers!) and bump down the steps. That usually puts him out. He likes the motion.
Today was cool enough to bring my dog Belle along. She loves to ride. I also took her walking with us and she was very well behaved, even when a white pit-bull-ish type dog flew off his back porch (to my complete surprise) and charged us full tilt! I grabbed the nearest stick, and Belle stood her ground...I think it stunned her,too...but the dog magically turned at the last minute and began running up and down the yard at the edge of the sidewalk! Apparently the yard had one of those electronic fences. Thought I'd need a change of undies, but Belle acted like she wanted to join him in the running game! I changed course and crossed the street, and praised Belle loudly proclaiming her to be a 'good dog'. Caine was unphased, and slept on.
We entered the cemetary on the side street as I always do, and I exhaled with the peaceful stretch before me. No cars, no dogs, just birds and souls at rest. We strolled on, and I began my usual reading of the stones, and Belle sniffed a million new smells. The headstones are fascinating. One was a huge cement tree trunk, with a masonic symbol on it. The childrens graves always tug at my heart strings. The newer ones have floral cartoon characters and hearts and balloons or stuffed animals on them, and the really old ones may display a lamb atop them. I guess the families feel better putting something there for the children.
I love grave yards, and think they are peaceful places, where I feel serene.
Usually..........
My friend and neighbor Becky took me to an old graveyard that was part of the setting for her book, "Patches on the Same Quilt", which was phenomenal, by the way, and there was a grave there of a little girl that made my hair stand on end. My whole left side constricted with pain, and I felt short of breathe, distressed and uncomfortable, when I stood near her grave. The child must have died of something to do with her heart, and she was not peaceful nor serene, and what bothered me was that I felt that. My friend Kim usually has those experiences, not me, so I am puzzled by the strong feelings, and I think I have to know more about the family and the child, and I know I have to go back there. Sometime.....
For now Caine and I will stroll in Bedford in the peaceful cemetary!