A place of eternal rest (7pics)

This is a post to go with #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.

This winter season, I often walk my dog in the cemetery. More precisely, I walk to the end of the cemetery along the main road and then return to the main road. It takes about 15 minutes.
In summer, I rarely go to the cemetery, because you can point your feet in any direction and not limit your movement to roads. In winter, I have to walk my dog along the road, but I don't want to go with her to the center of the village, where there are many people.



I came to live in this locality 33 years ago. Gradually, I made friends, and just many people I know. 17 years ago, I started building a house on the edge of our town and rarely saw people I knew, because I almost completely stopped walking the streets, I began to walk more often in the woods and along the river.
Now, as I walked through the cemetery, I began to see photos of people I knew on gravestones. For 30 years, many men I know have settled in this cemetery forever, but no longer to live, but just to lie. Some of them died from heavy alcohol consumption, someone committed suicide, often under the influence of alcohol, or someone died in an accident. The year 2020 also claimed the lives of many of my friends. All these were not old men yet, they would still have to live and live. But these are the realities of our lives. A lot of men die in their prime.



There is not a single relative of mine or my wife's in this cemetery. My ancestors lie in the village where I was born. It is 180 km away. My wife's relatives are lying in cemeteries, about 500km from our house.
Our children went to live in other cities. Therefore, I sometimes think about where I will be buried, so as not to create unnecessary trouble for my children. The easiest way would be if my body was burned in a crematorium, but there is not a single crematorium in our region.
This cemetery is located about 300-400 meters from my house. But they say that there is no free space for new graves here anymore. People have pre-booked a place for their family graves.



That's about the kind of thoughts I have when I'm in this place.



2 weeks ago, I was walking in this place with my wife. She also likes to walk with the dog in this direction when the tractor was clearing the road.
Of course, she went and looked at the photos and saw a lot of familiar women, her former colleagues at work, and just acquaintances.
Where else would we meet our friends so massively? Only at some kind of general village festival, but for some reason we haven't been to them for several years.

Friends, goodbye! Until the next walk.