Strange weekend
The funeral this weekend was odd. Well, it was really the events around the funeral that were odd. Left work early Friday afternoon and drove down the Peoria. The plan was to drive down with my sister, mom and Aunt J on Saturday morning for the funeral. I usually wait until after work to head down but things were slow and I didn't want to drive the whole way in the dark.
I ended up meeting my mom at the mall for a bonding-shopping session. I not only got to pick out some birthday presents for myself (mom hadn't gotten around to it yet) but also spent some cash on preparations for winter. A much needed new down coat and some boots for walking the dog. We grabbed some dinner and decaf coffees to ward off the chill, then headed home.
Saturday morning, Aunt J showed up at mom's then we drove out to BFE to pick up my sister. I think if my sister hadn't been with us I would have listened to my iPod the entire trip. We my mom and aunt get going, there is no stopping them. They talked and bickered the entire way there and back. Some of the talk I could join in on but when they start going back and forth about how many kids some cousin I've never met had, I prefer to zone out. Luckily, I also had a book with me.
It was a small group at the funeral. Grandma didn't want any fuss (that's how she was). A very efficient, no nonsense lady who had been a nurse for 40 years. She was really good about keeping up correspondense. If you sent a thank you note for some gift, you would always get a note back. Almost a thank you for the thank you.
After the funeral, my cousin and step-mom called my sister and I back to Grandma's bedroom. They were looking through her jewelry and asked us if there was anything we wanted. I felt like a vulture scavenging through the remains of Grandma's life. It was weird. There was only one thing I was interested in from amongst Grandma's things - a quilt. She's been making quilts for as long as I can remember. I have one at home that she made for me while I was in college. I was hoping she had some that my other cousins didn't want. Since we didn't visit often, I consider myself low on the todem pole. I didn't want to take anything that my other cousins might want. I really lucked out though. My step-mom was about to claim this beautiful wedding ring quilt but suddenly thought it would be appropriate for me to have it since I just got married. YEAH!
I actually talked to some of my cousins for a while. This was a much more casual event than my aunt's funeral. We had dinner at grandma's house and I wanted to feel useful so spent most of my time in the kitchen. To those of you who know me well, that's a pretty typical spot for me. It was a bit strange to see my mom among my dad's family. Dad didn't seem thrilled about her being there but my mom really liked her mother-in-law and kept in contact even after the divorce. They behaved themselves.
One other weird thing I realized. My aunt died about a week before my Napa Valley wedding. My grandma died about a week before the Catholic wedding validation ceremony. Thank goodness this is the last wedding for me. I don't want this to become a pattern.
I ended up meeting my mom at the mall for a bonding-shopping session. I not only got to pick out some birthday presents for myself (mom hadn't gotten around to it yet) but also spent some cash on preparations for winter. A much needed new down coat and some boots for walking the dog. We grabbed some dinner and decaf coffees to ward off the chill, then headed home.
Saturday morning, Aunt J showed up at mom's then we drove out to BFE to pick up my sister. I think if my sister hadn't been with us I would have listened to my iPod the entire trip. We my mom and aunt get going, there is no stopping them. They talked and bickered the entire way there and back. Some of the talk I could join in on but when they start going back and forth about how many kids some cousin I've never met had, I prefer to zone out. Luckily, I also had a book with me.
It was a small group at the funeral. Grandma didn't want any fuss (that's how she was). A very efficient, no nonsense lady who had been a nurse for 40 years. She was really good about keeping up correspondense. If you sent a thank you note for some gift, you would always get a note back. Almost a thank you for the thank you.
After the funeral, my cousin and step-mom called my sister and I back to Grandma's bedroom. They were looking through her jewelry and asked us if there was anything we wanted. I felt like a vulture scavenging through the remains of Grandma's life. It was weird. There was only one thing I was interested in from amongst Grandma's things - a quilt. She's been making quilts for as long as I can remember. I have one at home that she made for me while I was in college. I was hoping she had some that my other cousins didn't want. Since we didn't visit often, I consider myself low on the todem pole. I didn't want to take anything that my other cousins might want. I really lucked out though. My step-mom was about to claim this beautiful wedding ring quilt but suddenly thought it would be appropriate for me to have it since I just got married. YEAH!
I actually talked to some of my cousins for a while. This was a much more casual event than my aunt's funeral. We had dinner at grandma's house and I wanted to feel useful so spent most of my time in the kitchen. To those of you who know me well, that's a pretty typical spot for me. It was a bit strange to see my mom among my dad's family. Dad didn't seem thrilled about her being there but my mom really liked her mother-in-law and kept in contact even after the divorce. They behaved themselves.
One other weird thing I realized. My aunt died about a week before my Napa Valley wedding. My grandma died about a week before the Catholic wedding validation ceremony. Thank goodness this is the last wedding for me. I don't want this to become a pattern.
posted by Tosa at
7:50 AM
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