Grandma's Funeral

Today was Steve's grandma's funeral. The kids and I showed up late at the cemetery for the graveside service. There had been a viewing at the cemetery and I missed it. I was very disappointed, because viewings somehow make the death more real for me. I still don't think it is all real for me, because the first thing I did when I got there was look over the crowd and when I saw an older lady with white hair sitting on a chair next to the grave I thought to myself, "Oh, there is Grandma." She was always at every family function and I am going to miss seeing her.

After the graveside service we went to the church for the funeral. I parked the car and went to get out and heard, "Mom! I'm stuck!" Apparently, for some reason, my 8 yos had leaned out the window and when I rolled the windows up he got stuck. He looked like he was in a stockade; his head was turned to the side and his hands were on either side of his head. How in the world did that happen??? Anyway, I panicked. And I swore. In the church parking lot. And my brother-in-law heard me. Apparently I shouted it. With all of our nice family around....but I only saw Rob. Maybe nobody else heard. (I rolled down the window and he was fine. Little turkey scared me to death!)

Later on, during the funeral, when everyone was as still as a proverbial church mouse, Michael kept clicking his tongue to a tune that I don't remember. It was traumatic so I blocked it, maybe. And he also kept saying loudly that he wanted to go swimming. He went swimming once this summer and keeps asking for it again and again and again whenever he gets bored with what we are currently doing....usually at the wrong times. when it is quiet. mostly at church.

Then after the funeral we went into the gym to eat a lunch that the church had provided. The kids were playing on the stage. Michael wanted to play too, and I figured there was no harm because I could watch the stage and both doors that exit the stage and make sure he was ok. Yeah well, there was a third door at the back of the stage behind a curtain. And he escaped. We all took off in search of Michael, and after about 2 or 3 minutes Steve came back with Michael in tow looking a tad bit embarrassed. Steve, not Michael. Michael *never* gets embarrassed. So I asked Steve where he found him and he told me that he found him at the bottom of the stage stairs going into the gym with his pants around his ankles. He had used the bathroom and didn't pull up his pants. Why, oh why, oh why?!

So after all that, we bought a BIG bag of Peanut M & M's to share on the way home. Chocolate always helps with dementors of all kinds, doesn't it?!

And now I am home. I am so glad to be home! There is *no* place like home. My kids can be naughty without anyone seeing. I can say a bad word with no one hearing (I do try *not* to do that one, FYI). Michael can pull down his pants without anyone witnessing it. Ahhhhhhh. Home.

I will really miss our Grandma. She was a wonderful lady! She was the first person I met in Steve's family. He invited me to a family dinner at her house, including all aunts & uncles & cousins, just a couple of weeks after we were dating. My three children under 4 years old were invited too. I remember hoping that his family would like me and being so nervous that the kids would do something naughty. His family are wonderful people, and his grandma was super. They all tried to make the kids and me comfortable. Not much has changed I suppose. I still worry about my kids being naughty and they keep trying to make me feel comfortable.

His grandma let us have an Open House at her house after our wedding. She also was our first stop when we moved back to Utah from Kentucky. She let us sleep at her house the first night and fed us dinner late, late at night. A more perfect hostess you could never find. She was always kind and loving. We will dearly miss her.
P.S. The green coloring is edits after talking to Steve and finding out *why* Michael was naked, and also to make situations clearer.