Friday (11/23)
- 11:30 pm: Phone call from dad. Grandma passed away.
Saturday (11/24)
- 5:30 pm: Arrive at airport. Fly from Dallas to Denver. Fly from Denver to Omaha. Pick up rental car. Drive to Aunt S's house in Omaha.
Sunday (11/25)
- 2:00 am: Go to bed!
- 12:30 pm: Lunch with Grandma W; Aunt S/Uncle M; Uncle G/Aunt K; Uncle G/Aunt J; Cousin J & family; Cousin K & family; Cousin E & family; Cousin Z (all on my mom's side of the family)
- 5:00 pm: Drive to LeMars, Iowa
- 7:00 pm: Arrive in LeMars - visit with my Mom & Dad & about 10 other various members of my dad's family
Monday (11/26)
- 11:30 am: Brunch with Uncle B/Aunt P; Uncle N/Aunt M; Mom & Dad; Cousin A & hubby; Aunt P's DIL & baby
- Visit to Blue Bunny gift shop
- 5:00 pm: Grandma's Visitation - open to the public (she didn't want a funeral or anything, but the family insisted on having some sort of event that others could attend). I met a TON of 2nd cousins & great aunts/uncles that I had never met before that all live within 30 miles of LeMars.
- 9:00 pm: Cousin gathering at Aunt M's house - about 20 people in attendance, including my brother R who arrived from Illinois this afternoon
Tuesday (11/27)
- 10:30 am: Grandma's funeral. Open only to her immediate descendents & there were over 50 people in attendance. Grandma & Grandpa had 5 kids, 14 grandkids, and 29 great-grandkids so far...
- 1:30 pm: Left funeral home to catch a plane - drove to Omaha. Flew to Denver. Nearly a 3 hour layover. Flew to Dallas.
- 11:30 pm: Arrive at home - whew!
When one grandparent dies, it is not easy... but when both are gone, there is a ton of stuff to deal with. My grandparent's house will be sold soon, so I took a lot of photos of things in and around their house that I want to remember. Silly things, mostly... but things that made my grandparents who they were. Losing Grandma brought up the pain of Grandpa's death all over again. Because she is now gone, we will lose the little things that reminded us of him when we visited her.
Grandpa's Tools were all very organized. Every drawer was labeled in detail. I think Grandpa would have made the label maker companies rich, if they would have been around when he was alive.
Grandpa even labeled the souvenirs they kept on shelves in the basement. Each item had a date and location and sometimes who went on the trip with them. Most items were labeled with a piece of masking tape or a small manilla piece of paper.
Grandpa & Grandma's basement looks like a set from "That 70's Show". No joke! All of the furniture, the wood paneling, the wonderfully colorful striped carpet - all of it. It's like the basement that time forgot. Oh, how I loved visiting their house. The funny quirks and crazy artifacts are unlike anyone else's home I've been to.
Grandma's hair brush & mirror set. I remember watching Grandma put her winter white hair into curlers while her teeth sat in a glass on the bathroom vanity. She combed & brushed and looked in the mirror. I remember the first time I realized Grandma had false teeth. It was such a shock. I was probably 7 years old at the time.
3 comments:
What a great idea to have taken those photos ... I wish I would've done that with my grandpa. It'll give you great comfort to be able to look back at those and just remember.
Amy - What lovely memories, and how thoughtful you are to document those things. I'm still so sorry for you...I know it's hard.
oh, what precious photos. I can see where you inherited your organizational skills. So fun that your grandpa was so tidy and had things labeled even before labeling became trendy! I can't imagine the emotional toll this has taken on you. I'm so glad you got to go be with your family during this time.
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