Grandmother’s Funeral

Today was Grandmother’s funeral, and while it was a very sad day for everyone, we did manage to find some joyful moments, thanks to the children.  Kendall wore a pink dress, which probably seemed incongruous to many, but the color, satin trim, and pearl accents reminded me of what Grandmother was wearing.  I think she would have liked it.  An unexpected blessing today is that Brian and Kendall got to know some of their cousins.  They really hit it off with Ava, Ashton, Brady, and Sophia, and it warmed our hearts to see the second generation of cousins playing at Grandmother’s house and in her yard!  It was so great to see so many of my cousins, many of whom I hadn’t seen for years.  I spent some time just appreciating Grandmother’s yard and special places, and telling the kids about them.  I was so happy to see that a few of the tiger lilies were still around, and had lovely blooms today.  Kendall liked the three little ducks, like I always have.  We saw so many dragonflies.  I was able to show the kids at least four different species:  green ones, blue ones, brown ones with striped wings, and brown and white ones.  We were surprised to see that the flowers we sent for the funeral also had a big glittery pink dragonfly on them.  By itself, it might seem tacky, but..  In context, it really worked.  The ceremony was short and sweet, and I was so thankful the children behaved, despite the July heat and humidity!  At the end, the funeral directors invited us all to write a message in Sharpie on Grandmother’s vault–it seemed a little surprising to me at first, but, then it seemed like a really special thing to do.  Many of us did choose to write a message, including the kids who could write.  Kendall really wanted to contribute, so, we helped her trace her handprint and wrote her name in it.  Then some of the other kids wanted to make a handprint, too!  I’d never seen this done before, but it was sweet, seeing all those messages of love.  Admittedly, I felt a little conflicted taking pictures there, so the one photo I did have of the vault was purposely fuzzy and taken early on, so it doesn’t show everything that was there eventually.  But I suppose it was good that I did take it, since later on, some cousins asked me for that photo.   We stayed all day, and had dinner with Rosemary and Sytse.  The kids made us all laugh by providing the evening’s entertainment–they sang songs (they “kinda know the words to”), and presented a shadow puppet show.  (Thanks to Nana who helped them make their puppets!)  Kids.  They have the power to give us hope and laughter, even on the saddest days.