A visit to the pet cemetery

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we were away this past weekend for our family reunion at my brother's house.  There is a pet cemetery nearby.  I've never been to that pet cemetery or any other.  When I hear "pet cemetery," what comes to my mind is the 1989 movie "Pet Sematary" based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.  I didn't read the novel, but I do remember seeing the movie with a friend.  I've never been a fan of horror movies, so I'm not sure why I decided to go.  The movie was freaky and scary, but it was really more about people than pets.

While I always knew there was a pet cemetery near my brother's house, I was never inclined to visit it before.  On Friday morning, my brother-in-law took my daughter, his daughter and another cousin over to the pet cemetery for geocaching.  Unfortunately, they found poison ivy instead of the geocache!  Since they had ventured over there, my husband and I decided to take a look at the cemetery for ourselves.  Then I went back later to take some photos.  

At first thought, it seems excessive or perhaps eccentric to have a cemetery (and especially elaborate gravestones) for pets.  I know a lot of people who dearly love their pets.  My family loves our two cats, and we are very fond of many of our friends' pets as well.  Yet I have never heard any of my pet-owning friends mention burying their dog or cat in a pet cemetery.  Still, there I was in a pet cemetery full of burial plots with gravestones, statues and monuments big and small.  Some were a bit neglected, but others had clearly been visited quite recently.  Flowers and candles and little tokens were left there next to some of the gravestones.  While I'm pretty sure I would never go to the extent of purchasing a gravestone for a pet, still - it was quite moving to see.  The details on the gravestones, the inscriptions, the tokens left behind all speak to the great love that people have for their animal companions.  And, really, animal companions are very loyal friends.  As humans, we sometimes disappoint, neglect and hurt each other.  Pets, on the other hand, love unconditionally. 
 
 *****

My niece told me that she had heard that two pet monkeys were buried in the pet cemetery.
Sure enough, we found those graves among the cats and dogs:  

Hermie is buried alongside his dog "brother" Charlie.  It appears that they died within a year of each other.  I wonder what sort of companionship they had with each other.

Cissy was a "sweet little darlin' pookers" to her human family for twenty years.  The photograph attached on the upper left hand corner of the grave shows Cissy in a dress.

*****

Additional pictures from the pet cemetery along with a selection of quotes about cats and dogs:

Snoopy's grave is decorated for the July 4th holiday.

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
- Andy Rooney

 

All his life he tried to be a good person.  Many times, however, he failed.
For after all, he was only human.  He wasn't a dog.
 - Charles M. Schulz

The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants.
- Johnny Depp

The only escape from the miseries of life are music and cats...  
- Albert Schweitzer

What greater gift than the love of a cat.  
- Charles Dickens

Patriotic songs my father taught me

This is my dad, Russell Schmidt, beloved and missed.

Over the holiday weekend, my family gathered for our tenth annual "Schmidty-palooza" reunion.  This event includes my mom, my six siblings and their spouses, and our children all gathering at my brother's house in Indiana.  My dad loved having us all together at our yearly summer reunion, and he is sadly missed by all of us.  This is the fourth reunion we've celebrated without him, although I believe he's with us in spirit.  Actually, I know he's with us in spirit simply by virtue of these things:  the influence he had upon us throughout our lives; the people we have become; and, the traditions we continue to celebrate together in his absence.  I thought of my dad's influence in a particular way this weekend, as our reunion always takes place on or near Independence Day.  My dad influenced us through the music he listened to, and an album I remember clearly is a collection of patriotic song and marches.  One of the songs on that album was "You're a Grand Old Flag."  Sitting poolside, my sister and I were reminiscing about our performance in a summer talent show at our local library.  We were probably in the nine to twelve year old range at the time.  We did a dance routine, involving the twirling of small American flags, to "You're a Grand Old Flag."  To this day, we both can sing that song by memory:

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love.
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
'neath the Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag. 

After my sister and I sang through that one, with some curious looks from nearby kids, we started thinking of all the other patriot songs that we know because of our dad.  I remember very fondly the songs of the armed forces.  The army, navy, air force and marines each have their own song.  The U.S. Navy has "Anchors Aweigh."  The U.S. Army has "The Caisson Song."  The U.S. Air Force has "Off We Go into the Wild Blue Yonder."  The U.S. Marines have "The Marines' Hymn."  As a girl, I'm sure I had no idea what I was saying when I sang these lyrics:

 From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of UNITED STATES MARINES.

I certainly didn't know what a "caisson" referred to when I sang the army song.  (A "caisson" is a chest or vehicle used to store or transport ammunition.)   What I did know was that I was sharing in something with my dad.  He would play the album (or a cassette tape copy), and we'd sing along to those patriotic or military songs.  Some of my dad's siblings were in the Second World War.  He himself was drafted into the Korean War.  My dad's typing skills quite possibly saved him from combat duty.  When he got off the helicopter, someone in command asked, "Any of you dummies know how to type?"  Since my dad could indeed type, he was sent to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where he typed up lists of  names of dead soldiers, whose bodies were exchanged between the two sides.  My dad didn't glorify war or militarism, and he certainly wasn't always in agreement with U.S. foreign policy.  Yet he was definitely patriotic in a way that many of his generation are.  He was born in 1932 and grew up during the Great Depression and the Second World War.  The truth is - my dad liked many different kinds of music, and he liked to sing.  I like these patriotic tunes, because my dad liked them.  Remembering these songs makes me feel connected to him.   

When I thought about writing this, I wasn't sure what it's really about.  Is it about patriotism?  I do love my country, but I'm definitely not a blind patriot.  No, this post is not about patriotism or politics.  Is it about music?  Certainly music connects people, and that's part of what I'm getting at.  Is it about childhood memories?  Those happy or funny or odd experiences and stories that connect us to our family, the people we grew up with.  Sure, that's part of it too.  But I think what it all comes down to is...

Love.  The love of a father, and the love for a father, who played records and sang.  We miss you, Dad!

*****

Postscript:  If my own children have similar memories and/or songs that connect them to me and make them think of me lovingly - both while I am still here and when I am gone - then I will be pleased and glad.

Late night limerick

There was a tired girl with a blog

There was a tired girl with a blog
Who thought, "I could sleep like a log."
     The weekend was great
     Traveled home quite late
 To bed I will go in a fog.

*****

Lessons learned:
- If intending to blog while away for a few days, plan and/or write the posts ahead of time.
- Also, make sure the keyboard for my iPad is charged. 

We had a great weekend.  We're back home, and I have some good ideas for upcoming posts.
Stay tuned... 

Happy Fourth of July from Schmidtypalooza!

Top ten reasons to love Schmidtypalooza 

#10 - Fishing & swimming in the pond (ear infections optional)

#9 - Relaxing in the pool (or having epic water gun fights)

#8 - The sun (almost) always shines

#7 - "Intense" volleyball games

#6 - Uncle Chris' megaphone 

#5 - Official Games & Schmidtypalooza Cup

#4 - Fireworks (with 911 on speed-dial)

#3 - What happens at the bonfire, stays at the bonfire.

#2 - Celebrating & making memories for ten years!

And the #1 reason to love Schmidtypalooza...

                   OUR FAMILY IS AWESOME!!!

Holiday haiku

Holiday Haiku

"Krazy Kaplans" ads

Every single billboard

Fireworks for sale?  Yes.

(With apologies for the blurry photo, which was taken from a moving car.)

One third of the way through!

With this post, I have completed ten posts of my thirty day blog challenge.  In my post "Accountability," I described how I am challenging myself to post some writing every day for thirty days.  I am so glad I'm doing this challenge/project.  It's pushing me not only to write, but also to share something every day.  I'm learning to let go of my perfectionism.  Or at least some of my perfectionism - it's a process.  When there are only ten minutes left until midnight, I have to let go and just click "publish" if I want to meet my goal.  Of the posts I've written so far, some are ideas or topics I've thought or written about before.  Other posts are the result of my experiences that day.  That is to say - some posts were planned, and some were not.  I have a lot to learn about the formatting and the various features of Blogger and hope I'll make progress in that regard throughout the rest of my thirty day challenge.  It has been difficult some days to get my blogging done.  Time is a big challenge most days.  Many nights I have been up finishing up blog posts, much later than I planned.  As I learn more and exercise my writing muscles daily, I hope to get better at planning out my posts ahead of time and getting them written more efficiently.  It feels great to be able to say that I am one third of the way through.  Twenty posts to go!  It's been challenging, but I made it this far and believe I can meet the challenge I've given myself. 

*****
 
I write, therefore I am a writer.  The same goes for you, if you write.  As a reminder of this truth, I have a great flowchart from writer Chuck Wendig on a bulletin board above my desk.

I don't need to know about Mario Puzo and other lessons from Screen-Free Week

This is Mario Puzo.  He wrote The Godfather when he was 45 years old.  
The author of this blog is currently 45 years old.  
She has not written a bestselling novel, nor does she have one in the works.

From May 5-11 of this year, I participated in Screen-Free Week.  This event used to be called TV-Turnoff Week.  While teaching fifth grade - over fourteen years ago - I taught a media literacy unit to my class, and we participated in TV-Turnoff week together.  We did it in a low-pressure way to help raise awareness of television viewing habits.  The event was renamed to reflect the variety of screens that have come into our lives since it began in 1994.  For my family, screen time means many things.  We watch movies or television shows, almost all on DVD or through Netflix or another streaming service.  The kids also use the television to play video games on the Xbox or the Wii.  Besides the television set, there's the desktop computer, the iPad and individual family members' iPhones or iPods. And screens are everywhere now - not just at home, but also in schools, at stores and museums and doctor's offices.

I try to be aware of my own screen use.  What message am I sending if I tell my child that he spends too much time on a screen, but at the same time I'm frequently checking e-mail, the weather app or Facebook?  And, yes, I've had my kids call me out on that a few times.  I'm glad they did.  Rather than get defensive, I try to acknowledge and discuss it.  I could be defensive and say that I had to check e-mail updates about soccer practice or a meeting or some other commitment.  But if I'm honest, I admit that it's just as likely I was checking with no real reason at all.  I let screens distract me too.  This year, I have been working on limiting my screen time, mainly on the computer and iPhone or iPad, since I don't watch much television anyway.  That was my motivation for participating in Screen-Free Week.

The official pledge for Screen Free Week states, "I pledge to watch no TV or DVDs, play no video or mobile games, and only use the computer if it's required for work."  Although I don't work outside the home at this time, my work as a parent to three children would require me to occasionally use my computer or phone to check e-mail.  Communication from my older son's school and from all the children's activities is done via e-mail.  But I did make my own personal pledge to limit e-mail use to two or three times a day, which still seems like a lot.  Giving up television and Facebook for a week was not difficult for me, but giving up general Internet use and limiting e-mail was harder.

I really noticed my tendency to want to "look things up" right away.  I'd read something in the newspaper or in a book, or I'd think about an idea for an event or project, and then I'd want to go online immediately and research it.  This is the convenience and (sometimes) benefit of modern technology, but also the disadvantage of it.  We have the world at our fingertips, even when we don't need it.  During Screen-Free Week, my daughter had a birthday party.  I was baking cupcakes and needed to make a substitution in the recipe.  The information was not available in any of the cookbooks I own.  In that case, I considered my use of the computer to be work-related (to my role as a mom) and quickly googled the substitution to see if it would work.  It took only a couple of minutes.  How would I have handled that without a screen?  When it comes to cooking questions, the answer is usually:  call my mom.  I suppose I could have gone to the library and looked at cooking manuals there.  It seemed like a stretch to go to that extent.  Looking up the recipe substitution online seemed legitimate to me.  

There were many times during that week, however, when I wanted to look up information for a lot of reasons that were not legit or necessary.  For example, I was reading the book Show Your Work by Austin Kleon.  The author writes that Mario Puzo wrote The Godfather when he was forty-five years old, because he needed to make money.  Well...I'm forty-five years old and I need to make money!  So, naturally, I wanted to google Mario Puzo.  As if reading his life story would be the secret knowledge I needed.  As if his story would be the key to my future.  This sort of faulty thinking is a downside of the researcher in me.  I spend too much time in the information-gathering stage.  I resisted the urge to google Mario Puzo; I'm sure his Wikipedia entry would have popped right up.  Then I thought about how I would research Mario Puzo without using screens.  If I went to the library, screens would still be involved.  Either the librarian or I would have to use the online catalog to search for a book or article that contained information about Puzo.  As an experiment - I thought I might try to get the information at the library, but then I never had time that week.  Screen-Free Week was over, and I forgot about it for a while.  Because - guess what!? - I really didn't need that information for any reason!  It wasn't essential or necessary in any way.  That's not to say that other people's life stories are not inspirational; they certainly can be.  It's just that the whole process demonstrates my compulsion to look things up right away.  The fact that I forgot about it fairly quickly, when faced with a more difficult research method, shows how unnecessary it was.  The ability to easily and unnecessarily research information on the internet via a computer or mobile device is a real temptation to me.  

I can't say that my one week of being screen free totally transformed me in that regard.  However, it has given me more self-awareness.  I've become better at considering if I really need to do a search, and many times I've stopped myself.  And although that week was very busy with family events and kids' activities, it was somehow more peaceful than other weeks.  I am considering taking another week free from screens sometime later this summer.  I highly recommend it!