Didn’t I just say I was going home? But now I’m back home? Oh, I’m so confused.
We left here on Saturday early afternoon. It was comical trying to get through security, but everything worked out just fine. We were even able to sit all together on the airplane, which worked out well. The girls really enjoyed the flight. The refreshments served were particularly exciting. We were surprised how cool it felt in Phoenix once we got there. Julie especially wasn’t prepared for it, mostly because we had to pack so quickly. So she went out to WalMart on Saturday night and got some hip new jackets for the girls.
It was good to see everyone. Grandma’s nieces came, representing the Oregon contingency. Susi, Mike, and Traci came from the other Utah contingency (the one that hasn’t yet been disowned for living there). And there were the usual cast of suspects from Phoenix and vicinity. I often think that it’s bizarre that it takes an event like the death of someone close to us to get us all together. But at least we all were able to get together.
The funeral was on Monday. It was a relatively small service held at the Sunland mortuary in Sun City. Abby was a little concerned when she saw Grandma. She said that her lips didn’t look right — like they had been frozen together or something. I tried to explain a few things to her, we went out to look for the swans, and she seemed a little better. I’m sure she’ll remember her as I do — smiling and laughing. So I’m not too worried about it.
Somehow I was volunteered to speak at the funeral, “representing” the grandchildren. As I said in my comments there, it’s funny how my comments have gone from being labeled as biting sarcasm to somehow poetic or profound. I guess it’s amazing what moving 700 miles and reading words instead of hearing them will do. Either way, it was good to be able to speak there. The only comment I got from anyone was that I should have written something down. I guess that means I missed a few things and that perhaps I rambled some. Oh well. It all worked out well.
Krisanne had her baby about 12 hours after Grandma died, which was a bit of a microcosm of the whole thing — life’s cycles and renewals and all that. Baby’s name is Sophia, and she had a bit of a hard time getting here, but she’s doing well. Krisanne was able to go home yesterday and they’re expecting baby anytime now. I think we should expect Aaron to join the blogging elite fairly soon.
We didn’t make it out to Surprise. Julie felt that it was too early to go back out there. It was a bit awkward to be back in Phoenix so soon after moving. All the drama and emotions of the goodbyes we just had to go through were a little fresh, I suppose.
Well, enjoy the pictures. I guess my thoughts tonight aren’t as profound as expected, but that’s the breaks, I guess.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/midder/
Back to the grind tomorrow.