A Very Long Day

It’s been a very long day, but I need to talk to all of my wonderful bloggy friends before I put this day to rest. We buried my sweet grandma today. She lives a couple of hours away, so we had to be up and on the road early. There was a huge part of me that REALLY didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. I was not looking forward to facing the reality that she was gone. But we got up and dressed and out the door before 8:00 AM.

We got caught in construction and didn’t end up at the viewing until it had been going on for about 20 minutes. But it didn’t really matter…the family was all still there. We hugged and cried and laughed and then hugged some more. The service was beautiful. Teach got to lead the singing and all the great grandkids and great-great grandkids sang a couple of songs. I led those so that she could sing with the group. It was a pretty impressive group! Six of my seven siblings were there and all of their children. Plus various other cousins and relatives.

My Dad, my MIL, Gym Rat and Me

 After the kids sang I spoke for about 10 minutes. I wasn’t afraid at all since it was mostly family with a few scattered friends in the back. My oldest sister and two of my brothers and one nephew also spoke. It’s funny, we all had different memories of Grandma, but they were kind of all the same. It’s like we learned the same lessons from her but all in a different way. Does that make sense?

After the funeral we drove for another half an hour to the cemetery where Grandma's first husband was buried. There was a short ceremony there. The funeral directors were so good! My little boys and a couple of their cousins wanted to look down in the hole so I took them to the edge. When I told him that they were curious about the process, he explained all the chains and ropes and pulleys to them. He even told them where they stored the extra dirt and why. Then he gently led them all back away from the hole and they brought the casket in. Doesn’t my sweetie look good in black? He was by far the best looking pallbearer…no offense guys…

Then we all piled back in the van and drove half an hour back to the church for lunch. I met with cousins I hadn’t seen in 20 years. I don’t know why we all have to wait for a funeral to reconnect! After an hour of more hugging and visiting, we loaded back in the van. The Dog Walker had a Marching Band competition about an hour away and we had to have him there by 4:30. He joined his group about ten minutes before they took the field to perform.

We got home about an hour before Princess’s birthday party friends started to appear. I quickly threw together a couple of batches of cupcakes and some frosting. She had about 20 kids here until almost midnight, but it was just what the kids needed. Princess even let all the little kids join with her friends playing games and decorating cupcakes, eating ice cream cones and singing around the piano and then watching Phantom of the Opera.

And now I’m tired…I’m so glad tomorrow is Sunday and a day of rest. The Gym Rat is hosting Princess’s family birthday party at his house tomorrow, so I don’t really even have to cook. Other than three hours of church, tomorrow should be much easier. Thanks for being there for me!