It's a delightful, warm, breezy day and I pull the car into the parking lot of Grace Episcopal Church....unload my double jogging stroller and the two kids climb aboard...."let's go sightseeing"...I exclaim! I first picked the cemetery of the church to tour. Curious, I asked Jack if he knew what a graveyard was,....sure enough, he goes into detail...."yeh, you member when they dig that big hole, with that big pile of dirt, and they put Aunt Helen in there!" Oh my....does he really remember all that! I have to admit that I was pretty impressed that he put two and two together, because after all, he was right....we were in a graveyard. So we began our walk and looked at a few of the old tombstones. I read a few of them explaining that they have the date they were born, the date they died, and their name. He wanted me to read all of them. "Just a few", I say. We came upon three small ones, and he asked me..."momma read those....what does it say" I started reading....as I read, I realized that there was a mommy and daddy who had lost three of their children, one child each year, for three years. "I hope that I never have to fathom that".....I must have spoken out loud because Jack's next question was...."why do kids get dead?"....."Well, sometimes Jesus decides that its time for them to come to heaven and be with Him."....."Oh", he responded. We strolled to the back where rows and rows of Camellias are blooming. Their smell is so sweet, and makes me close my eyes and take a deep breath...we walk under huge oak trees draped with Spanish moss.....it's beautiful....even if we are in a cemetery. We make our way out and head down Ferdinand Street. We make a few pit stops in some of the antique shops....looking for cake plates.....I can't seem to pass up an antique cake plate. Lunch time is approaching, and I know just the place....Magnolia Cafe'. Jack picks the table on the outside porch...and I am just fine with that. We decide we want pizza, so pizza it is. Avie asks, "where's daddy"? "He's at work today, I wish he could be here with us though". "Me too"! Jack says. My sweet tea is refreshing, and the pizza arrives and looks delish! We eat our pizza, take a bathroom break, and then they pile back in the stroller and we head back up Ferdinand Street. The sun is beaming at high noon, and I feel the sweat forming on my brow....it's going to be a long walk back. We make another pit stop at the Historical Society Museum otherwise known as the information center, and soak in some AC. They hop back in the stroller and we continue to the car. The wind is blowing and it feels so good....we hear swarms of leaves blowing down the road, as if they are all running a marathon, and.....the Japanese Magnolias.....well.....they speak for themselves. Thank you Jesus...... for giving me days that I have patience and gentleness.....
