Many thanks to all of you for your warm wishes and thoughts these past two weeks. They've been emotionally and physically draining, that's for sure.
I might have said it before, but it's worth repeating -- I have a great job, with great bosses. I wouldn't exactly call March a slow month for us (the understatement of the year, btw), and everyone was understanding and supportive of my journey up to Philly.
I'm really glad that I was able to spend the time up in Philly. Sure, I joked and complained here and there. But I am so happy I could be there for the aunts - running errands, providing a distraction, anything. I was blessed with hearing a week's worth of stories about grandmom that I never knew before, and I really learned more about who she was, pre-grandmothering.
She died Thursday morning, without any of us there. She wasn't alone, though -- a nun who lived at the Villa was in with her. (You can't possibly imagine how many nuns were in and out of this room all week!) But that didn't surprise me. We made the (good) decision early on not to keep vigil through the nights. It was too exhausting on everyone and wouldn't have done us any good to been even more exhausting. It was my personal opinion (who the hell am I?) that she wouldn't die with her three daughters huddled around the bed. Too much of a tie to them.
The viewing and funeral mass were Sunday night. Many, many thanks to Melissa for making the trip up. She kept wanting to escape the huddle of the grandkids because she thought she didn't belong up there... where as we all wanted her there as someone new to talk to and distract us! So it was perfect!
I gave the eulogy at the end of mass, and was emotional at the end of it. Don't know if it was the stories, or the sadness, or the tiredness, but there you go.
As we all filed out of the church, dark, black clouds were rolling in. The wind picked up a bit. And then... DROP. Big, fat rain drops. DROP. DROP. DROPDROPDROPDROP... POOOOOOUUUUUURRRRRING rain. Complete blackness in a matter of seconds. Sheets of rain. Running nuns! HAIL, people! We ran 100 yards to our car, and were drenched! Literally -- I took my shoe off and poured water out of it. It looked like we all jumped in a pool.
Half the people ran to cars, half ran back into the church. The car shook with the force of wind.
It lasted a few minutes, then Mike and a cousin started to shuttle nuns individually from the church to their cars with umbrellas. Dozens of cars in the parking lot -- two umbrellas.
The next morning was just as crazy, weather wise. The wind gusted up to 20 miles per hour, and the temperature had dropped about 15 degrees. All the kiddies were wrapped up in our pashminas, and it might have been the shortest ceremony at the grave site ever!
We had a fun luncheon though, with a big banquet room that the kids could all run around in. Photos on Facebook if you haven't seen them!
Now it's back to the daily grind, and hopefully some semblance of normal.
I do miss the turn down service at the convent, though.
4 comments:
Your grandmother's burial reminds me of my own grandmother's - we buried her in the height of a wild snowstorm. There was a minor auto collision involving the hearse, the shortest burial service on record, and gravediggers literally hovering waiting to get started so they could go home. All we could do was laugh - in death, as in life, my grandmother had to put kinks in the plans :)
Aren't the pre-grandmothering stories the best? My favorite story involved my grandmother's brother leaving her, as a 16-year-old, as collateral at a hotel in the Poconos. He had gone there on a date and my great-grandmother made him take my grandma as a chaperone. He ran out of money so he LEFT MY GRANDMA there while he drove back to New York City to get more money. This was clearly before ATM's :)
Lots of hugs to you, love. xoxoxo
Hug hug hug! I can't imagine that there was a dry eye in the church after your eulogy. Love, Vi
Didn't we have a freak rainstorm like that after leaving the church following Melissa's wedding? I remember running across Broadway, and then a white-knuckled drive up the West Side Highway.
Maureen, I love how your family relies on you to give eulogies.
JB
Yes! It did pour like that after the wedding! Poor girl had to run through the rain in white heals and a big dress!
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