She Lived A Long Life

Saturday we had to go to the funeral for Mike's grandmother. She was 95, and passed in her sleep this past Tuesday morning. Although it was a sad occasion, it wasn't entirely unexpected, you know? I mean, she was 95.

Mike and I had a disagreement about whether we should make the boys go. Rebecca knew her pretty well, and wanted to go. That was fine. Tristan never really knew her, and she wasn't his grandmother to begin with since he has a different father than the other two children. I didn't think Timothy should go since he's young yet, and it was going to be a long day anyway. But, Mike wanted all the kids to go, and they did.

To my surprise, it actually went better than I had expected. Timothy behaved himself and actually learned a thing or two. Tristan helped to carry the casket out of the hearse and into the mausoleum, and I thought that was special.

When we first got to the funeral home before the guests started to arrive, we had the opportunity to say goodbye to grandma. Timothy, in his loud, I'm-making-a-point voice said, "Mom, that doesn't even look like her real skin." So, this brought about a discussion as to why her skin doesn't look real. It was a learning experience for him.

Seeing all the family we don't usually see because everyone is spread all over the country, I spent a better part of the morning explaining to Timothy who everyone was and how they were related to him. He'd go from person to person, reading their name tags, and then come back to me and ask how they were related. I think we had it all covered by the time the guests started to arrive.

All in all, it was a beautiful day for grandma's funeral. The weather cooperated, and grandma would have been happy. She would have been thrilled with the turnout, because she was very family oriented. It was just a shame she wasn't there to enjoy the family gathering. I'm sure she was there in spirit though, making her rounds, laughing and reminiscing with the rest of us.

A Funeral

Mike's mom called today. Her mother died sometime during the night last night. She was in her nineties, and living in a nursing home for the last 10+ years. I don't know all the details, but she hasn't been sick that I know of. In her nineties, she probably just passed in her sleep.

Saturday is the funeral service at the funeral home. There's the visitation, the service, a dinner, and the burial at the mausoleum. I didn't know her very well at all. I have been to the nursing home a couple of times, but mainly for the kids. They enjoyed going to see her, and she loved seeing them.

I'm not looking forward to the funeral on Saturday. Well, who does look forward to a funeral, right? Even though I didn't know her very well, I need to be there for the rest of the family that did. It'll be a long day, with lots of crying. You don't live ninety-some years and not make a couple of friends, you know?

I dread telling Rebecca when she gets home from school today. She's going to be terribly upset.