They had the same hands..

Well, a lot has happened since I updated last.

First, there was a HUGE snow storm...When I say HUGE, I mean HUGE! Quite literally, we got 3 1/2 feet over night. That was Saturday the 14th.  The kids had their basketball games canceled and Bee and I spent the day snow blowing and shoveling.

Then, when we were done, it was time to do it all over again. We came in for the night just in time to see that I had to missed called from my cousin Tony in Indiana, and a missed text message status update from Face Book from my cousin Allison (Tony's sister) that said "pray for him". Instantly, I knew that Tony's call was not good news.

When I called my cousin back, I found out that my uncle had passed away suddenly. This was no bueno. My aunt, who is sick and has dementia, she was supposed to go first! We were prepared for that. I didn't know what my work would give me in the was of time off, but I knew I had to go. Mom didn't have the money to go, sister couldn't get the time from work, and my dad didn't have the money or the means to get from Tucson.

Work made me take all of my own time, but whateves. I shopped for groceries like a mad woman, cleaned and prepared my family as much as possible, then kissed my lovey and my hive good-bye on Tuesday morning around 6am and headed on down 71S. I had an uneventful drive (other than all the rain. My word,  the rain!) and arrived around 1:30pm. My cousin Brian was bummed my dad couldn't make it, and when he heard that my dad was really upset about not making it, he immediately booked him a round trip flight! I got to see my dad! He came in on Tuesday night and hung out with my cousins and I.

Wednesday we had the viewing. We were there from 2pm until almost 10pm. It was a long day. A long day of hundreds of people I didn't know telling me who they were and how they were somehow related in some way. My uncle didn't even look like him, and I kind of found myself feeling sad. However, sad for my cousins and their loss. Sad for my dad. Also, sad because I realized, I didn't even know him that well :( I decided right then and there, that it's Bee's and my duty to make sure our kids see their relatives. I don't want them to be standing at a casket of an uncle 20 years from now not knowing that person. I finally did cry when I saw my dad touching the arm of my uncle and I realized, they had the same hands :( That honestly, was the most profound thing. I will always remember that.

Picture my uncle painted

another one...

Sign The Guestbook..

another painting

Marengo

Marengo

Marengo's one and only street

The Quary

Poppy at the mouth of the Quary

3/4 of my extended family

Thursday was the funeral. We were late. It was nice. My aunt made a fool of herself. She has a painkiller problem and she got into her pills. She was passing out for the whole thing. Thankfully, people just thought she was overcome with emotion...the grave site service was an hour's drive away and my dad said he would rather stay in the little town where he grew up and wait for everyone to come back for the reception dinner. We killed time by grabbing a bite at a small diner, and then he took me around and showed me the town he grew up in I have been there many times before, but it's been awhile) and we visited the house he grew up in. Afterwards, we went to the the church hall that my uncle built and had a very nice dinner with people who knew him well and loved him. Then, I said my goodbyes and went back to Tony's house where I sat with him and did some big time catching up :) Till 2am ;) I left Friday morning at 6am and was home by 1pm. I spent the rest of the night attached to the hip of my Bee. I missed him so much and he missed me :)




This all just reaffirmed to me how important my family is. I need to just spend more time with the extended part of mine and make sure my kids do too!

(I have more pictures to post, but my phone is being weird and Bee is playing his game and pictures eat the wi-fi..)