𝑈𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑔𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟. African Proverb

∼'The Mender's Path'

​I walk the earth where roots run deep,

Where silence guards the hills they keep.

Beneath the maples, gold and tall,

I answer to the ancient call.

​The stone is broken, worn by rain,

A century's weight, a quiet pain.

With steady hands and tender care,

I lift the names from cold despair.

​Each jagged edge that I restore,

Is opening a long-closed door.

I clear the moss, I set the base,

And bring the light back to this place.

​They are not lost, though years have flown,

I find them in the weathered stone.

The river hums, the valley sighs—

I see the world through kinfolk's eyes.

​And in this task, the circle bends,

Where history stops, my work begins.

I mend the past to set it free,

And find that I am home in me. By: Melinda L. Alderman Vajaria "Minnie"

∼I'm writing this while I'm here to tell my own story in my own words.

I am a lifelong family-history researcher, cemetery wanderer, animal lover, and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Much of my genealogy work has been about finding people who were nearly forgotten and making sure they were remembered again. Sometimes that has meant locating broken stones, caring for old family graves, documenting memorials, or simply refusing to let a name disappear.

My fur babies have always been family. Theodore "Theo", Maddie, Keseri, Sasha, and Mimi each hold a permanent place in my heart, and someday I hope we will all rest together.

I have always been drawn to quiet places—rivers, old cemeteries, sacred spaces, gardens, and anywhere a person can sit for a moment and breathe. I hope my own final resting place will be like that too: peaceful, welcoming, and perhaps a comfort to someone who needs a quiet place to rest.

I love history, stories, humor, and the occasional bit of monkey business. I believe people should be remembered for more than dates carved into stone.

She loved deeply, laughed often, and left a place for others to rest.

And if you happen to visit someday at my final resting place:

Come sit for a while. I've got nowhere to go.