remembering loved ones

Part of el dios de los muertos is remembering loved ones who have passed away. I have been thinking a lot about loved ones Steve and I have lost since this time last year and, as today is the last day of the holiday, I decided to share a little bit about them with you.

This past spring my great grandpa Smith passed away. I'm sad to say that although I loved him very much I don't know a lot about his life. What I do know is that he was head over heels in love with my great grandma Harriet and that we started losing him very soon after she passed away. I also know that he was in the army and served in Alaska during WW2 and my great grandma trekked across the entire country with a baby just to be with him. I miss him a lot but knowing he is finally with my great grandma again makes me feel better. Here are some of my favorite pictures of him:

In looking through my pictures of my great grandparents I came across this one as well...

Those are my great grandparents on the right but the woman between them and me is my great great grandma Smith, or as we called her, Grandma Nora. She passed away when I was in the 5th grade but I still think of her almost every day. She is in my thoughts today especially. I won't list out all of the amazing things about her here since that would make for a very long blog but I will say that she is one of the most amazing people I've ever met. I was named (my middle name) after her which is a huge part of the reason why I did not change my middle name to my maiden name after I got married. She is also a very large part of the reason that I am bound and determined to get my degree no matter how frustrating it gets. Education was incredibly important to her and if she knew I left school and didn't go back she would probably find a way to come back just to kick my butt.

Finally, as we remember loved ones who have passed on Steve and I find ourselves remembering his dog Spankey who passed away very close to this time last year.

Spankey was a complete sweetheart. He was incredibly old for a dog (passed away when he was 19 and a half years old) but we loved him. The day we took him to the vet to be put down was the only time I have ever seen Steve cry.

These are not the only people I am remembering today... some of my friends have recently lost loved ones too and they are certainly in my thoughts and prayers today. However, I want to be clear that today, and this entire holiday, is not about being sad. El dios de los muertos is about celebrating life and remembering all of the wonderful things about loved ones who are no longer with us.