It was Christmas morning, several years ago. The family gathered over at my parents house for our annual Brown French Toast Breakfast. Once the french toast had been finished, and the kids had started playing with their toys from Santa, my grandmother brought out her gift for us. It came in the form of a riddle. I wish I still had it. It gave clues such as, “we can spend the a lot of time together”, “memories will be discussed there”, “room for everyone”. I’m not sure why we all thought she was taking us on a cruise, because that couldn’t be farther from the gift. Instead, my grandmother had given us a cemetery plot. Let that sink in a minute. My grandmother, on Christmas morning, had presented us with our very own plot so that we could spend the rest of our lives together. 

My grandfather is buried in the plot of land, and she purchased the surrounding area. A thoughtful, but slightly awkward and gory Christmas present to the family.

What does my family do with this information!? We caravan over there, singing Christmas Carols along the way. And because this gift only gets better…in the middle of this plot of land is a HUGE monument with “Brown Family” engraved on it. 

After paying respects to our sweet grandfather, and before we leave to finish out the Christmas Day, we take a family photo. All I’m saying is, we’re not quite right, but we are family.