Every Tuesday, a group of people meet at Longford's Christ Church, weather permitting, and we do a couple of hours work on the graves.
They call themselves "The Graveyard Shift".
Mostly weeding and removing accumulated leaves and sticks.
Today I raked bucketfuls of acorns and pulled a couple of oak seedlings from the gravel on top of a large grave.
It was a perfect summer day with blue skies and a gentle breeze every now and then.
As I worked away, people walked through and stopped to chat with other workers. I was so glad to see Mum having social interaction with some new people.
Smoke drifted lazily from a small pile of debris that wasn't suitable for composting, the smell reminding me of a time long ago when every yard had an incinerator and rubbish was burnt weekly, do you remember, in the times before plastic?
There is something so tranquil about the sounds of birdsong, brooms sweeping and rakes rustling. The only sound to loudly interrupt the peace was the occasional bursts of laughter from the folks as they exchanged friendly banter.
These are the sounds of industrious retirees. At 67 Mum is one of the youngest and me, I am positively a baby!
This might be something you might be interested in doing in your community. If there isn't a group already, you could advertise in the local paper in the community notices section.
These people have worked all their life and now continue to give. They are keeping themselves fit and benefiting the community. Oh you younger generation, I hear constantly about how hard your life is, I just hope you too will one day become like this older generation that I am so proud of.
What a neat idea, and I'm sure, much appreciated by visitors to the graveyard. Beautiful pictures too.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about feeling like a baby. I take my Grandma to a lot of her activities, or even just on rides around the valley to get her out of the (wonderful) facility in which she lives. I gain a sense of optimism from it, seeing how much fun she and her other friends still have, and in her case, at least, more fun than she's ever had before. My grandma, who can't live on her own, actually makes getting old look like great fun.
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