Well I did say I would be irregular - I am true to my word...so 2 months down the line, I feel the urge to blog once more.
Yesterday was memorable, my Great Grandmothers funeral.
I wept when told of her death, she was almost 102 and had a long, healthy, productive life - so after a day of mopping around and feeling sorry for myself, I set about getting on with organising my family to attend the funeral. I arranged days off from school for the children, nagged the bigger ones to make their apologies at work and college, made sure that work was aware that I would be away, asked my fab friend to pop in to check on the dogs, got all the black coats and hats dry cleaned, stitched new buttons into empty spaces on said coats, polished shoes, filled the car with petrol and ... BIG mistake, took the wretched thing through the local car wash. As I left the car wash, things seemed noisier than usual and there was definitely less power than I am used to. Took hubby with me for a short ride to check that I was not imagining it - I wasn't !! So, with only a few hours to spare, went online and arranged a hire car.
Still on track the morning of the funeral, I collected the hire car, swung by the local cop shop to collect eldest daughters mobile phone ( she had left it in a taxi over the weekend ) and made for home to collect the rest of the tribe. Mike drove his car with youngest son aboard and the hire car was just for us girls ( whoopee ).
Congratulating myself on my organisational skills and the great way I had coped with this emotional fortnight so well, I had lunch with the extended family at the local pub opposite the church and then crossed the road with the whole clan to say 'goodbye' to Great Gran - still thinking how well everything was going, how smart my family looked, how polite yet confident our children were being etc, I positioned myself next to my mother to provide her with some support during the service. Still fine - bit of a chat with Mum and Dad, little joke with Sister Liz behind me, encouraging smile for Lucy who was looking a little sad and then the first hymn started and I dissolved completely - Mum held MY hand and was a tower of strength, a rock, whilst I cried like a baby through the second hymn, the eulogy (beautifully delivered by my Father), the prayers, the sermon AND the third and final hymn. The day has taught me two things, i)I still have much to learn from my mother and ii) pride comes before a fall.
Still, Great Gran had a great send off - no more than she deserved - and as Mike said at the end of a very draining day, it's a shame she couldn't be there to see everyone, she would have loved it !!!
I dont't know quite what's happened. I just wrote a long comment on this blog, which seemed to have accepted it but now claims to have no knowledge of it. I hope your computer isn't subject to playing silly practical jokes, and general untruthfulness ??????????????
ReplyDeleteIf it is I suggest you treat it to a swift kick in the slats, and see if that helps matters.
Yours, helpfully, Pa.
Hi Sarah et allia. Yes, I think that's just how I will remember that day. Mikey's right,too- Great Gran would have loved it. I too, thought Mummy would need all our support, But I do feel that Mummy is at her strongest (and that's saying something) when her family needs support. She is here beside me now and says that you were indeed a great support to her. Even though Great Gran's no longer here to join in I think we must continue to hold family 'gets together'.
ReplyDeleteMuch love to you all - The Parents.
P.s. Jolly good blog, Sal. Well done.
ReplyDeletei)don't think there is anything wrong... but not sure how I can tell or what I would do about it if there were problems !!
ReplyDeleteii)Mum is sweet but honestly, I was rubbish !!
iii) absolutely we must keep the get togethers going, Naomi and Harriet, Liz and Becky all said the same, so please keep me in the loop and if you could let me know when the next one is I will be sure to muster the troops and get the clan there.
Love to all
Stig
x
Check your mail, Naomi's already booked everything, I just haven't got round to sending all the info on. Sorry, but it's not until July 2011 and I didn't have your e mail address when she first sent it, er probably three months ago.
ReplyDeleteAnd you weren't the only one blubbing, I think all the female cousins were, weird, I didn't think I would either at least not all the way through! I nearly ran out of tissues and I'd stocked up.
Darling Nieces, Thank you for your copious tears for Gran - no one could deserve them more - nor want them less. You were all greatly loved by her - remember your tears and let memories of your Gran wipe them away with her smiles.
ReplyDeleteFondest approbation,
GUC
Regrets - very few, perhaps that middle england isn't closer to the sea !
ReplyDeleteI sympathise with your regret Stig, but if Middle England was a ten minute walk from the sea we would have had a much tougher time from the coastal invaders. And by now people wouldn't simply choose to leap from Flamborough Head - with our population we'd be tumbling into the sea by the bucket load daily. (Unless you had some non-Euclidean geometries in mind or perhaps a collosal civil engineering regime to terrace all the mountains!) Somebody once calculated that the whole human race could be housed in a cubic box half a mile high - provided you minced them first to remove the gaps between them! But people were fewer and smaller then and didn't mind being minced as long as the vicar said it was right and proper!
Somebody else once calculated that you could stand everyone on earth on the Isle of Wight if you allowed each of them an eighteen inch square space, but I don't think it would be much fun, so you needn't include me in it (which will, of course, allow everyone else marginally more space).
ReplyDelete