As my previous blog stated my grandmother who was 92 years old past away. She was an amazing woman inside and out and I would love to be even half as remarkable as her. This weekend was filled with a plethora of emotions...
My family and arrived in North English(Southeastern Iowa) Saturday morning. There we waited until family arrived the following day and monday. The visitation was Monday and there I got to see my cousins, aunt and uncles, family from out of state, and some other unique species that tagged along with my uncle.ehhm. Besides that it was a bittersweet evening filled with hugs from random strangers and also stories of my Grandma that made me just smile. It gave me reassurance that my Grandmother truly was a lady. Now, I never really thought about what the word 'lady' meant until this weekend. She was always made-up nice, always had a pleasant smile on her face and was well liked throughout the community. I miss her........so much. You never FULLY can grasp how much someone really impacted your life and others until they are gone.
Following the visitation we headed up to some family friends who live next door to my Aunt's house. They are such a gracious family who totally opened up their home to all of us, provided meals, and entertainment. You know, I never really have LOVED small towns until this weekend. Everyone waves, EVERYONE knows everyone, and when someone passes away the community was there bringing meals and plants to our family. What a blessing to us!
Tuesday was the funeral and it was a very tough time. As the funeral started and all of our family began to walk in my emotions began to tear me up inside. The first hymn was 'How Great Thou Art' and that was enough to ruin my mascara and eyeliner alone. Then came the speech about my Grandmother's life, and then the Pastor began to read what my Mom and I had to say about my Grandma. My Mom's was great. She mentioned the fact that she was my mom's age(46) when she had my mom. Crazy. I could NEVER picture my mother being prego or with a baby right now in her life. The Pastor then read my letter which made everyone cry. Writing for me is a very emotional thing. I put a lot of thought and emotions into what I write and so I wrote about all of the memories I had with my Grandma. It was sad, but I felt lead to tell Grandma how I felt and that I will never forget the memories.
This weekend was....yes, sad. Very sad. But I felt our family come together more than ever. They are truly great people. All of them. No matter how unique we all are or where we come from we all came together for Grandma's sake. I know it's what she would want. I love Grandma. May you rest in peace in Heaven
