Rickboy
Nom Nom Nom Nom.. me hungry for a SuperBowl
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Last Friday at 4am I got the call.
My Mom was letting my know that my Grandmother had just passed away. She was 87yo. It wasn't very easy for any of us. In my case my Grandparents had more to do with my childhood years than my parents did. Back then I was definitely much closer to them than my own Mom. Over the years my Mom and I have reconciled our differences and gotten a lot closer but I never drifted away from my Grandparents. Indeed my primary reason for moving to Texas from Washington DC was to be closer to my Grandparents as they got older.
So Saturday morning my wife and I drove to West Monroe, LA and attended the funeral. I attended at least 75 military funerals when I was in the Army. I even had to present the flag to widows. However this was my very first funeral for a family member. It was hard. Really hard. My little brother had the hardest time of it but my older brother did a damn fine job of keeping the mood light. He would crack a few quiet jokes to the two of us. He was a godsend that day.
After the funeral the entire family (about 40 of us) went to my Uncle's cabin for lunch and general family stuff. It was a nice little reunion despite the circumstances.
Now the wait begins. My Grandfather had said over the last couple of years that he was hanging on so Grandma wouldn't be alone. Now that she's gone he doesn't feel any reason to stick around. She had Alzheimer's but still remembered him up until the last day. It was hard to see him at the funeral. His mental state has deteriorated over the last year and he has some dementia. However he was aware of what was going on. He told us to be good and be good to each other. I hope to see him next Easter but I have a feeling I'll be making another trip to Louisiana before then.
Like I said, the worst weekend ever. I'm getting over it. I just needed to vent a little...
My Mom was letting my know that my Grandmother had just passed away. She was 87yo. It wasn't very easy for any of us. In my case my Grandparents had more to do with my childhood years than my parents did. Back then I was definitely much closer to them than my own Mom. Over the years my Mom and I have reconciled our differences and gotten a lot closer but I never drifted away from my Grandparents. Indeed my primary reason for moving to Texas from Washington DC was to be closer to my Grandparents as they got older.
So Saturday morning my wife and I drove to West Monroe, LA and attended the funeral. I attended at least 75 military funerals when I was in the Army. I even had to present the flag to widows. However this was my very first funeral for a family member. It was hard. Really hard. My little brother had the hardest time of it but my older brother did a damn fine job of keeping the mood light. He would crack a few quiet jokes to the two of us. He was a godsend that day.
After the funeral the entire family (about 40 of us) went to my Uncle's cabin for lunch and general family stuff. It was a nice little reunion despite the circumstances.
Now the wait begins. My Grandfather had said over the last couple of years that he was hanging on so Grandma wouldn't be alone. Now that she's gone he doesn't feel any reason to stick around. She had Alzheimer's but still remembered him up until the last day. It was hard to see him at the funeral. His mental state has deteriorated over the last year and he has some dementia. However he was aware of what was going on. He told us to be good and be good to each other. I hope to see him next Easter but I have a feeling I'll be making another trip to Louisiana before then.
Like I said, the worst weekend ever. I'm getting over it. I just needed to vent a little...