I have always been history minded, interested in people, places and events of our past. Added to that is the fact that both my parents instilled in me a sense of family, often talking about specific family members and events that occurred in the past. It gave me the sense that I knew these people even if they were gone before I was born. The fact that my father was born in the late 1800's and I was born to him late in life, just added another dimension to all of this. Taking a drive with Dad through the old familiar territory of his childhood was an education in and of itself, listening to his remembrances of another time.

Most likely as a result of all this, I have always been fascinated with cemeteries and the various information inscripted on gravestones. When visiting a family cemetery, I would often wander around looking at many of the other graves. Or when visiting historical sites, cemeteries are always on my list. I remember a trip I took with my husband a few years back where we visited Arlington National Cemetery and spent the entire day walking the cemetery. We then went the next day to Gettysburg and walked some more, looking at grave after grave. My husband, though a good sport in all this, finally said, "Do you think you have seen enough graves for this weekend?" I had to laugh.

After discovering Find A Grave, I would spend a lot of time browsing the site looking for family members and just reading memorials left for other folks. After a couple years of doing this, I realized that it was time to "join up" and be useful in this regard. Even in the Bible, people were told to set stones and remember. I think we are all called to remember. This I my way of honoring those who went before.