July 10th—Twenty-Two Years After Your Death

My first time visiting the cemetery since the funeral: A Letter

I finally visited your headstone today, Dad. It’s weird to think I was only eleven the last time I stood there in the Waasa Cemetery. But I don’t remember it… or your funeral at all. I have one vague blurry flash of crying in the car, but beyond that, those days are not cataloged in my memory. 

I’m not sure why I waited twenty-two years. I kind of wanted it to be a special occasion. I wrote a poem back in college about a man visiting his father’s grave for the first time with his new wife and a baby on the way—imagining I’d do something like that. 

But I guess this 18 Uncles journey is as good a reason as any.