After spending Thanksgiving with my kids I took off to VA to hang out with my cousins. We have not had much down time after the passing of my Aunt and Uncle this past year. Once again we found ourselves spread out on the floor in the family room, in front of a roaring fire talking. There have been many trips to the rural area of Mechanicsville over the years. Once I went up with my two younger children when they were 11 and 12. The day before we were leave it started to snow. Of course you can imagine their frustration knowing we had to leave just when the snow was beginning to fall. It wasn’t long before the begging and pleading started to stay longer. I reminded my daughter that she had a project she was suppose to work on when we got home. Suddenly that became the barganning chip. They would spend the extra day working on the “project” in between playing in the snow.

Of course we agreed. There wasn’t any need to tell them that the adults  didn’t want the weekend to end either. The project was a to design a medieval castle, using any type of material you wanted. It would be judged on creativity and authenticity. We gathered in the kitchen trying to find the materials that they would need to begin. Of course running to the store was out of the question due to the weather, so they would have to make due with what was available. I remember watching my cousin Lisa open her cabinets and say “Lets see what we have in here”. She started pulling out multiple containers of noodles; Lasagna, spaghetti, egg noodles and elbow macaroni. Jokingly someone said, “Lets make a noodle castle!” and that was that. A noodle castle it would be!

The kids got everything together and began building the castle. Using lasagna noodles for the walls, spagetti noodles for flagpoles and the rope holding the half piece of lasagan noodle which made the door hanging open over the mote. Egg noodles made perfect flags waving atop of the spagetti poles! After the structure was complete they headed outside and found greenery to landscape the castle. Lots of holly added a holiday touch to our midevil times. Finally they decided that they wanted snow on the castle so it would imitate the beauty of the scenery that we saw outside. So with a sifter in hand my daughter sprinkled a light dusting of “flour snow” on her castle.

Needless to say, she won an award for most creative medieval castle. Children’s imaginations at work made a memory of a lifetime for us. Now the children are grown, graduated from college and even married.

This past weekend it was more about the adults. Relaxing, reminiscing and making new friends. Sometimes people come into your lives for a season, a reason or a lifetime. While there I got to know the person who directed my Uncles funeral. I have a new found respect for people in that business. It takes a certain type of person to deal with a grieving family while making arrangements. Someone who is attentive, intuitive and a quick thinker. We laughed at the similarity of being a wedding coordinator and a funeral director. I guess it all comes under event planning. You keep your eye on the person you are working for and you try to anticipate the needs of those attending.

I got a tour of the Funeral Home and listened to the thought process that went into its design. I peaked in to the embalming room with much apprehension. But after I stood there for a moment, it seemed a more natural place. Looking at the display coffins and the corner cuts was just like looking at a designer showroom builders use to choose custom cabinets. I helped my neice choose a casket for her Mom once, and I rememered how odd it all seemed. This was different. I wondered if it was because I had gotten to know the person behind the funeral business, or because I have experienced death at such a personal level.

You never know what is going to happen on a trip to Mechanicsville, VA.