You never truly die until the last person speaks your name. For most of us, the reality of it all is that after you die you will most likely be totally forgotten after three generations. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. Those who enjoyed fame or notoriety during their life may be written about or discussed for longer, but for most of us the generations to come will have no idea that we ever existed. I loved my Grandparents so much, but my children will never know them and that breaks my heart. My children will never experience first-hand the love that my grandparents had for us. They passed away before me, or any of my cousins had children so those children will never know their great grandparents. They only know the stories that we might pass down and those stories will most likely be lost as my cousins and I pass. Find a Grave is a way to honor those who have lived and died before us.

I am drawn to cemeteries as they contain a great deal of history and stories that are forgotten, people that are forgotten. I would love to know all of their stories. I read any information available when I am visiting "graves" on the Find A Grave site and I always leave a flower, especially for the babies who never had an opportunity to live a full life. Everyone deserves to have a flower. Every grave was a person who mattered to someone. Every grave represents someone who was a mother, father, sister, brother, son or daughter to someone. They mattered.

There is so much interesting history and information on this site. You can get a sense at times of the hardships that were endured before us as well as the great joys and accomplishments. I find that there is a greater amount of detail and insight on the older graves/memorials. Some of them are quite dramatic, especially the "old west" entries!