This is a post that will just be sharing my heart...something therapeutic for me. I had a jam packed week last week. I drove up to Missouri on Monday morning to attend visitation for my Aunt Ruthie that died the week before. The funeral service was Tuesday. I then drove to my daughter's house because I was already planning on a visit there to paint the nursery for my grandson, Ronan that is coming in February and host a "next gender" shower on Saturday.
The funeral visitation and services were held at Schrader's Funeral Home as nearly every relative on both sides of my family have done. I have been going to this place since I was 4 years old. I have grown to hate the place as it represents another person now missing from my life. As I stated, beginning at age 4 when my uncle died. All four of my grandparents, my dad, several aunts and uncles and distant relatives too, have had their funeral services held at Schrader's.
For me, when someone from my dad's side of the family passes away, I feel another piece of my dad is now gone. It's like another connection to him is gone. This June 3 it will be 38 years since my dad passed so you would think it would get easier but it doesn't. Even though I may not see my aunts, uncles and cousins often anymore, I still love them all and have so many memories of growing up around them. My cousins were absolutely my best friends growing up...on both sides of my family. I spent an enormous amount of time with them. Spending the night, going to school, just hanging out. In all my youth, I only spent the night with a friend from school one time EVER and that was in jr. high! I spent the night with my cousins many, many times or spent evenings or days with them, playing, swimming, singing, laughing or whatever... and yes fighting and making up! This past week, I got to spend a little time catching up with a few. My mind was so filled with memories of my Aunt Ruthie and my cousins that I had a hard time focusing on the necessary tasks at hand but the Lord helped me still accomplish what needed done.
Just because I need to express some of those memories, I'm going to talk about them now.
1. Rabbit pancakes or baseball pancakes - regular round pancakes were called baseball pancakes and then she made ones in the shape of a rabbit. (without a mold! she made them by hand) And for some reason the rabbit pancakes tasted better to a kid!!! :)
---along with that her homemade syrup
2. Poker games that sometimes went on all night at her house with my parents and some others playing which meant kids got to play
3. Eating cream cheese and saltine crackers when we came in from playing in the snow
4. Her love of Neil Diamond
5. Eating raw cookie dough as a snack (she would make a large batch of dough and roll it in wax paper and freeze it and take it out to thaw to eat or bake) Yes! I obviously survived that and never got sick! :)
6. Her sunbathing in the side yard on a blanket
7. Her dog Tie
8. Being in the car with her and driving past the Wet Willie's water slide in Fenton when we overheard on the radio that Elvis had died
9. Her laugh
10. My bridal shower was at her house
11. Her telling me how hard it is to go on vacation to the beach with people who only want to shop and NOT go to the beach! ha ha
12. Her care and support of her kids
These are just a few things. She was a special lady and she will be missed.
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