Land of our Ancestors

Rounding a bend on the trail to the Mystic Waterfall we encountered a stream bed littered with small piles of stones. Spring and Tao explained that each formation was built in honor of a family member who had passed away. We all stopped to build our own monuments. It was definitely an emotional experience for me. I started to build one for both Josh's family and my own. Then I knocked it down and built one for our combined family instead. It didn't seem right to separate the two. Then I built one in honor of my friend's families. Victoria's grandmother and great aunt, Dana's uncle, Sue's parents. After they were all done we stood together holding hands. Roy, Percy and Gail each said a blessing. I'm not very good at articulating my feelings in any sentimental way so I just pictured all of our loved ones sitting in deck chairs smoking cigars, drinking red wine, and discussing how the hell they ended up in China.