Grave Dilemma

When I go to visit my mother's grave, I stop and buy flowers. Carnations were her favorite and they are generally easy to find. If I can't find carnations, then I bring mums.

I don't like to go to my parents' grave empty-handed, somehow, it just doesn't feel right. Finding flowers for Mom is easy. But what about Dad?

Dad was not a flower guy. His favorite food was onions, but the thought of leaving onions at the grave is not appealing. I could bring a Red Sox pennant or a Celtics championship flag, but that didn't seem right either.

I hit upon the idea one morning when I was getting coffee. In his last few months, we indulged my diabetic father's sweet tooth. The nursing home was checking his insulin twice a day, so we figured a little something sweet to perk up his day couldn't hurt.

All of his sweets went into his nightstand drawer. Because his appetite had decreased, there were days when that drawer was pretty full. But emptying the drawer was not an option Dad would even consider.

So as I stood in the coffee line, the Friday before Father's Day, I spotted the cookies. Dad liked the Dunkin Donuts cookie, well 2 out of the 3. He was not a big fan of the oatmeal raisin.

So on Father's Day morning, I headed to Dunkin Donuts and bought Dad two of his favorite cookies. The carnations from Mother's Day had been removed and there was plenty of room for me to leave the chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies for him.