ROBERT SNAP SPOT
Look, Dia de Muertos is Coming
A familiar face at the window, and family on our minds
The Holidays – My Loves – Family Traditions
Getting in the Spirit
Look at that face in the window!
All around town we have seen this face. In stores, restaurants and other people’s homes. The flowers, the colors, even the tassel are getting in the spirit.
Neal and I have set up our ofrenda as we prepare for our sixth year celebrating Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
On November 2, we’ll honor our loved ones again. We’re inviting them back home!
“I look at their photographs and still I have so much I want to tell them.”
– Robert
There are familiar faces to welcome and stories we’ve told before that I want to hear again. This year, some of the missing is still very new.
Ready for Company
Step back a little and you can see the whole outfit. Hey, It is a celebration of family and love, so be colorful! Someone came prepared! Let’s catch up!
I love having these colors around while we get ready.
There’s room for a smile when we remember the people we miss.
THIS WEEK I NOTICED
What We Choose to Keep
Looking through last year’s church photographs, I noticed how different everyone’s remembrances were. Portraits from long ago sat beside more recent snapshots. A little sculpture had its place among the flowers. I knew the story behind what Neal and I brought, but so many of those other objects held stories I hadn’t heard.
It made me think about the things we keep at home. Something can sit on a mantel for years, becoming so familiar that we hardly notice it. Then we inherit it, or carry it somewhere new, and find ourselves explaining whose it was. I like that part. Saying their names. Telling someone why this particular thing matters.
Family Traditions — Joyful Remembrance
2019 and 2020 were years of heavy losses for Neal and me. My grandmother was 94, my dad 73, and my mom 63. Neal’s brother was 74 and his dad 96. Both of us have lost our parents, and we miss them dearly!
Preparing our ofrenda gives us something to do with all that remembering. We bring out their photographs and make room for the stories, including the funny ones. They gave us plenty of those, too.
“Come on in. We’ve been remembering you, and dinner wouldn’t be the same without your stories.”
– Robert
Neal has also dedicated telling his story at his blog. Though we are married and have lived together for years, only he can speak of how his heart feels the connection and loss of his family members.
Well, this is true of each of us. We all get a chance to connect with one another and tell our own stories.
Our family remembrances include our beloved Boopers, who died December 2022, and now his little brother Benny, whom we lost this September 2026.
Benny’s death has hit me so hard that I’m not ready to write his full story yet.
I miss my boys. Looking back through these posts brings me to Boopers’ photograph, Neal’s holiday napkins, and the preparations I wrote about in 2021.
Dia de Muertos also allows us to jog our memories and delight in the meals that brought our families to the table. The food and the decorating belong here, so much of our family life happened around a table!
Asbury’s Family Tradition — All Saints Sunday
Our church, Asbury Memorial, prepares a large ofrenda in the sanctuary for All Saints Sunday. Everyone is invited to help fill it with memories of the people we love.
Last year, Neal brought the carved marble Last Supper he bought in Rome, Italy, in the summer of 2000. It had sat on his parents’ mantel, and there it was near the edge of our church’s remembrance table. I placed a photograph of Boopers beside a spirit cat. Yes, our dear pets have their place in my remembering.
These four photographs are from last year’s service. Look along the table at all those faces, the flowers, and the personal things people brought. Each family arrived with someone to remember, and we shared that space together. As we prepare to return this Sunday, November 1, I’m thinking about those familiar faces and about Benny. I’m grateful we can bring that love, and the missing, into church with us.
A Little Coco Before November 2
Watching Coco helped introduce us to this tradition. I still return to that movie when this time of year brings the missing close. The family stories, the music, the remembering!
I can be sad about who’s gone and still find myself smiling at all the joy of family.
A Little Company
Before we go, look who’s keeping our flower-crowned friend company.
An owl and all that color. I couldn’t leave this pair out!
All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day are a match! The Connection? All Hallows’ Eve (October 31)also known as Halloween, All Saints’ Day (November 1)also known as All Hallows’ Day and Allhallowtide: All Souls’ Day (November 2) together they form a three-day observance dedicated to remembering the dead, celebrating faith, and reflecting on eternity.
THE CONVERSATION CONTINUES
Gone but Still So Close
A parent, grandparent, friend, or beloved pet may have come to mind while you were looking through these photographs. If you feel like sharing, leave a memory here for us to read when we gather again.
What’s one thing they did that still makes you smile?
“This time of year can seem sad, missing loved ones. I watch Coco, and I smile remembering our own family stories. I’m thankful they gave us so many.”
— Robert
📍 Savannah, Georgia
Collection
The Holidays, My Loves, Family Traditions
Captured with
iPhone 15 Pro Max, 18 Pro Max
Published by
Robert Snap Spot
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