Sad things, silly things

Yesterday my Korean mother in law arrived. As is customary, we stopped at the cemetary on the way home to visit my late wife's grave. My mother in law always brings a box of items to perform a ceremony at the gravesite. We wiped the marker and trimmed the grass. She placed a photo of my wife in a purple frame on the grave. She scattered cookies and orange juice. My brother in law recited a prayer.

While I was there I was thinking about the green shrine which is supposed to be a memorial for dead people. When these things are shown in movies, they are often too precious, too cohesive.

My mother in law brought silly cookies that look like either owls or snowmen, I can't tell. The photo frame appears to have been a promotional item since the words SAN MIGUEL BEER were displayed on the glass below my wife's face. (My mother in law can't read English).

To me, it was perfect. That's what I think reality looks like: sad things, silly things, meaningful things layered in time and space.