h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So...

*cough*



Isn't it always awkward after something big has happened?

I'm back from home after my grandmother's funeral. I really miss her, but... oh if you could have seen her legs, you would have wondered how she held on so long.

The funeral itself was beautiful- grandma always liked nice things, and she had picked out yellow roses for her flowers. She didn't have a spray for on top of the casket, but I think that she thought that would have been too much- besides, so many people sent flowers! The funeral parlor really did a nice job on her. She was in the dress she wore to my cousin's wedding, and she looked very much like she did that day. That would have made her happy. We put her prayer book in her hand, and as it turns out, she had some beautiful passages marked in it- about taking your family to heaven with you. That made me happy.

I got to see so many people I hadn't in a very long time: some old classmates, my teachers, great aunts and uncles, my dad's co-workers- even my parents' high school teachers! It wasn't so much sad as it was a send-off and a celebration. Everyone was so nice and friendly, and even the Amsterdam Cop took his hat off as the funeral procession passed by. We buried her in the Bergholz Cemetary. I had been up there before to visit my grandpa's grave, but I never really appreciated how nice of a view it is from their plot. It looks down into the valley at a couple of farms and a good example of a humid climate alluvial fan (hey, I may be grieving, but I'm still a ).

All that, and I got to see my extended family plow through the buffet at the wake like there was a prize at the other end. My great Uncle Bill, despite having brain cancer and firmly believing I'm my mom, can put away six pieces of chicken, a generous helping of rigatoni and meat sauce, another generous helping of potato salad, and top it off with two slices of pie. That's the thing about my family: you know something's really wrong when they don't eat! (By the way: Uncle Bill is quite a character- he fought in World War II, and still bears such a grudge against Germany in general that we can't tell him we have a Volkswagen.)

After that, we moved back to State College. And that's another story entirely that I'm saving for later: It's over 90 F out there, and I want to go swimming!

That's a fantastic description of the funeral. It seems like us Irish and you have much more in common than even I imagined. Somehow I had this idea of an Irish funeral being "different" in some way. Not by the standards of your description it isn't.

Isn't it great just to meet up with people and celebrate life on occasions like this? That's certainly what I would want if I were to pass away (ideally by a small Martian meteorite dropping on my head - if you're going to go, do it in style ). To find out that your parent or grandparent touched people's lives in different ways is a wonderful, wonderful thing. And the cool thing is - we do it all the time without really knowing it.

I'm glad things went ok, Mum had to help clear my nan's home yesterday as she's finally gone into a home

Reef- sorry about your nan. I hope she stays as well as she can for as long as she can.

Woodpigeon- my grandpa always insisted he was "Scotch-Irish." So there you go!

Traveller in Time with s
"I have just been to such family reunion a couple of weeks ago.
It is good to feel the bond between the members, each greeving in their own way. "

Thanks Scan