Dear Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa, We're all sorry we can't be there on this Memorial Day with armloads of purple iris and lilacs to pay tribute to your resting place in person, but we all live too far away and we each are getting closer to the end of our own earthly existence. But we can each tell you that not a day goes by that we don't think about you, and miss you, and have questions to ask you, because, especially you, Mom, were so darn stingy with information that we wanted to know and still want to know. We are all continually amazed as we gain new insights each year about the magnitude of the sacrifices you made and the perseverance you unwaveringly pursued to bless each of us and make our lives possible and to endow us with the qualities that we each possess. We owe you more than we can ever repay. Though we can't be there today, we are all sentimental cry babies and cherish all of the sights and sounds and voices and winter snows and summer flowers and hayfields and admonishments to go to bed at 8:30 even when we were 30 years old. We thank Burchell and Ruby for bringing flowers to your graves each Memorial Day, as close as we can get to being there ourselves. But we can tell you that we six Blood kids that you left behind have stuck together and loved and supported one another through all of these years, united in our devotion to each other and to our parents and grandparents. See you next year. Love, Louise, Dwight, Elizabeth, Judy, Ann, and Steve
