Catching Up

First off, my Grandmother passed away early Tuesday morning. It was rough but it was also kind of a relief. The visitation wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Lots of relatives I haven't seen in awhile, lots of pictures, lots of entertaining Grandma stories. The one thing that irked me a little was that they didn't color her hair black for the funeral. She only stopped coloring her hair once she moved into the nursing home at age 92.

I saw a picture of Grandpa Schwent for the firs time in my life at the visitation, one of few in existence. It was their wedding picture. I don't think they were married more than ten years before he died in 1956 or 57. Grandma never remarried or even had a boyfriend to the best of my knowledge. Anyway, Grandpa Schwent looked like one smooth character, like a leading man in a Western. People said I looked kind of like him but I thought he looked more like my cousins David and Adam. I'm going to scan that picture when I go over to the parents' later.

As for the funeral, did you know people don't all wear suits like they do in the movies? I was the only one in a suit. My uncle Bob was wearing a corduroy jacket of 1970's vintage. When I asked how old it was, he asked if I wanted to buy it from him. Cheeky bastard.

The hearse was a beat up number with expired plates and missing a hubcap. The priest lost his place three times during the reading. All in all, there was a surprising amount of mirth. From my cousin Bobby saying "All the power is on this side" when we were lifting the casket to all of the out of breath comments on the walk from the church to the cemetery.

The meal after the service was simple yet delicious. When I was almost finished eating, Carrie said I was in the zone and looked like a competitive eater. Upon finishing, I said "Today, Man won!" I think Carrie rolled her eyes at my Man Vs. Food reference.

My brother is a touch smoother than I am, I have to admit. He and Abby have two parakeets that they hate. Somehow, my brother managed to convince our aunt Diane to take them. I don't know what he said but I watched him from across the room. Before you knew what was going on, Diane was writing down directions to her house so he could drop the birds off.