Mark Twain said, "I've seen many troubles in my time, only half of which ever came true". I thought the quote was 90% never came true, which seems more like the odds should be in my family of worriers. But the family photo that was taken last Saturday came off with no problems at all and my worries were for naught.

The idea came up at the kitchen table, somebody mentioned the gift certificate for a family photo that Maria, Laura, Paul and Sabra had chipped in for my Christmas gift, so many years ago, we weren't sure if it was 8 or 9 or 10. So, then the conversation continued, we should use the certificate, which I had kept in plain sight on my bedroom bureau . I fetched it and we decided to use it, but I said, we are missing Maria now, and it was suggested to take the photo at her gravesite, so the stone would be in it. Then, someone said "Let's take ma's couch and we can have a couch picture with the group." Now, I had my concerns, but I figured the photographer would either say that the certificate was too old, or most certainly she wasn't going to the graveyard with a couch. Laura offered to call her with the proposal. And to my surprise, Laura said she loved the idea.

We called everybody, there are more than 20 of us, and got everyone to pick a good time for all. I called Kevin and said, "We're taking a family picture, can you be there?" Sure he said. I said it's going to be at the graveyard, and he said ok. Then I said, "there's one more thing - we need your truck to bring my couch there." Again, no "what the hell are you thinking?" Just an ok.

Then I worried for a week, what if we got arrested, thrown out of a graveyard. Sabra tried to calm me, Ma there's a list of things you can't bring - sleds, glass vases, etc. - nothing about a couch.

So Saturday came, we got there and dread of all dread, there were people throughout the cemetery, surveyors, men measuring to put in stones and my dentist and another woman cleaning up branches. But the photographer was there, the couch was positioned and we had the pictures taken. And not one of the others even came near us to ask, "Hey, guys what are you doing?" So, all my worry was for nothing. Don't worry, be happy. We can't wait to see the pictures.