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Monday, October 4, 2010

(no words)

*deep breath*
I don’t even know where the last week went, in some ways it was slow motion, but in a lot of other ways it went by so fast, it’s all a blur.
Monday night around 11:00 pm, my Mom called to tell me that it was over.  My grandmother had breathed her last.  
So Tuesday morning I went in to work a little late, but worked through the day since there was really nothing to be done, I finished up enough of my office work to pass it off and be gone for the rest of the week.
Wednesday I went to my parents’ house to help straighten things up a bit...it had gotten a little out of control while Mom was gone.  Harrison went with me and took Josh shopping to buy a new suit for the funeral - a challenge to be sure, since Josh has gotten SOOOO tall! But Harrison is quite the skilled professional, and they found everything they needed in about twenty minutes. NICE!
The real treat was that Caleb and Jennifer and the boys came in on Wednesday night!We all had dinner together and then had a good time laughing, teasing and hanging out.    I kind of forgot why we were there for just a little bit.  Mom brought out a few things that belonged to Grandma and we had a good time talking about who gave her certain little trinkets and things that we remembered from around her house.  OH yeah! Mom also brought home a picture of my grandfather (“Tata”) when he was young that looks JUST LIKE Caleb.  Pretty cool.
Thursday was a long and hard day.  The funeral was in the morning.  A very simple and short service, Grandma didn’t want a long, formal service or anything.  And later that afternoon the family gathered at the cemetery and shared a few things about her, stories or funny things or memories.  I think it was how she would have wanted it.
Friday we cleaned out most of her house.  It was sad to see things go and for the house to be empty, but it was nice that it wasn’t long and drawn out.  I think it’s nice that we all have a piece of that house: a knickknack or a piece of furniture or a picture, something that reminds us of her life.
Being back at work today, a few people stopped by and asked how everything went and if I’m doing alright.  The answers are that everything went well and we’re all doing alright.  It’s always hard to lose someone, but when you know that they are in pain and that they are going to a place where they are better than we are now, it makes it a lot easier to say goodbye.
At the risk of being a little cheesy...I have had the words to a Stephen Curtis Chapman song in my head for the last few days.  There is so much joy in the sadness, these words are true and exactly how I feel.

“We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end,
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
There's a place by God's grace
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again”

2 comments:

  1. Your grandmother was such a sweet woman. I am praying for your whole family.

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  2. Hi Hannah! Quiet enjoyed your post. You are right, hold on to that divine hope which will help us through rest of the journey...

    Would you care for some Coffee with Jesus?!

    ~ NRIGirl

    ReplyDelete