Farewell

Grandpa Ken was laid to rest yesterday, after a wonderful funeral that made me tear up, laugh out loud and feel like I got to learn a few new things about Greg's sweet Grandfather. What a wonderful man. He was loved by his family, friends and community. He was honored and revered by veterans and colleagues and associates. He was truly admirable in every sense of the word. We have been so lucky to have him in our lives.

We will miss him, but again, we are so happy for him to no longer be in pain. To not be weak and blind and without his most cherished sweetheart. We are overjoyed that he has been reunited with his parents, especially his dear Mother he had waited his entire life to get to know, as well as siblings, friends, a grandson and great granddaughter who I'm sure were there to greet him. Annie has been so interesting to watch go through this. She had talked a lot this week about Heaven. How babies who haven't been born yet, and people who got old and aren't alive anymore are all there together. And they're happy. On our way to the funeral yesterday morning, Ellie was back in her carseat when she suddenly just started to say, "Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa," over and over again. Annie, in her sweet 'teacher' voice, told her sister, "No Ellie. Grandpa won't be there anymore. He's up in heaven with Jesus. [pause] Oh, unless you're talking about one of our other Grandpas, they might be there!" It made Greg and I both laugh out loud.

There has been peace, and in some small way, even joy at Grandpa's passing onto something better. But. There is definitely a feeling of loss. He's not here with us anymore. We'll miss him. We know he's better off, but at the same time, from a truly selfish standpoint, it's hard not to think of what we're missing out on by him not being here to tell stories, to get to know our children, to be the head of the household at the annual Christmas Party. It has been a long, emotionally draining week. Especially for my dear husband, who looks up to and admires his grandfather so greatly and has a life time of memories with him. His mourning obviously took more of a toll on him than on me. After the funeral, graveside dedication and luncheon, we came home and were all just wiped out. We were basically physically and emotionally exhausted. Greg took a nap on the drive home, then came in the door and crashed on the front couch for another couple hours. (My physical exhaustion came mainly from trying to keep an active and overly tired one year old quiet and calm when we were seated front and center at the funeral services. Literally, front row, dead center of a filled chapel. And Ellie was wired. It made for an interesting experience.) My Mom stopped by, right after Greg had woken up. Upon seeing him, she commented, "You look really tired Greg."
Annie, hearing this, whispered to my Mom, "No Grandma. I think he just misses his Grandpa."

The experience of coming altogether during a time of mourning is so obviously beneficial. Greg, especially, seemed to benefit so much from being surrounded by people who loved and remembered and felt the same way he did. And, although it might sound odd, the day of the viewing and the funeral were, well, fun. We all really enjoyed visiting and laughing with friends and family we don't see as often as we'd like to. Greg's younger brother, Chris, was even able to fly in for the family events. Seeing Greg standing in a circle at the viewing, just talking and laughing with all three of his siblings, was about the greatest thing I could have asked for for him during this time. Annie and Ellie played and squealed with second cousins and Uncles all throughout the luncheon after the funeral.

I only had my camera out sporadically, so my 'coverage' of all the family events is a little sparse. There were several other cameras going though, most much better than mine, so I'm excited for when those CDs get passed around the family. I did not get any pictures of the amazingly moving military salute. Hearing "Taps" played off in the distance by an amazing trumpeter was by far one of the most emotional moments of the day. Seeing the military personnel honor Grandpa and his service, and then his family, was touching in a way few things can be.

I didn't catch everything I wanted to on camera, what with a wild one year old trying to hop from headstone to headstone, all the while trying to pick flowers out of the graveside vases, but here's a sampling of what I did get:

Here's Ellie before the graveside service began, in front of Grandpa's beautifully covered coffin.

Greg's father being presented that same flag after the military salute. Honestly, my eyes just teared up looking at this picture again.

Annie at the graveside.

Greg's mother, and brother Chris. And no, that's not like a trick of perspective or anything. Chris just really is that much taller than everyone else.

Greg's father, Uncle and Andrea (Greg's sister) talking about the flag.

One of Ellie's graveside meltdowns. Did I mention at this point we were about 2 hours past nap time? And that she wouldn't actually get a nap for another two hours after this?
Oh, and the front of her dress is covered in Nila Wafers . . . it's the only thing that kept her quiet during the funeral. But Greg's suit now needs to be cleaned again.

Me trying to calm Ellie down. Still not overly happy.

Chris at the graveside.

Afterwards, we headed to the luncheon. Here's Ellie trying to feed herself jello. This only added to the mess that was the front of her dress.

Annie cuddling with her Daddy. She was also 'hiding' from Uncle James, who'd been chasing and tickling her. She'd run around squealing for awhile, then dive back into Daddy's arms anytime James got too close.

Uncle James with Ellie.

Annie had the time of her life running from Uncle James, squealing for her to Dad to, "Rescue to the rescue!" during a large portion of the luncheon.

Goodbye Grandpa. We love you.

You have quite the family here. I'm lucky to have been able to join it.