I have a few thoughts about my grandpa's funeral I wanted to share. I'll add pictures as soon as I get them (I didn't take many, but luckily Maren & Heather did). It was a beautiful experience to be there.
1. Family can be an enormous source of strength. A powerful, tangible strength which allows us to carry each other.
2. My grandpa's casket had a little drawer that allowed for us to put letters or pictures in it. There was even a room at the mortuary with a table, crayons, pens, and stationary. Here are Erica's and Robby's letters. They don't know I took these pictures or even that I read their letters. But I want to remember and I think they will want to, too.
3. Hearing taps played at a funeral is one of my favorite things.
4. My grandma has an inner reservoir of strength that I saw her tap into again and again. We may each have one of these, but how often do we recognize how strong we can be?
5. Every single one of my cousins was at the funeral (one even made a 30 hour journey from Armenia in which his luggage was lost). I don't need to tell you much about my grandpa for you to recognize what a tribute this was.
6. It's okay to laugh at funerals. And to sing "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." And to cover your ears when the rifles are shot.
7. Funerals do give a lot of closure. So do tears. And viewings.
8. The older I get, the more I appreciate funerals. I feel like it is the last opportunity to soak up/bask in the life of the one who has passed away.
9. I love seeing my kids with their cousins. It brings back so many happy memories of me and my cousins.
10. I will always miss my Grandpa. But I feel him cheering me on, even today.
What wonderful thoughts, Julie. And I LOVED Erica and Robby's letters to their great grandpa. They saw him often and really knew him. And I agree about the value and joy of funerals and the way they draw family closer together.
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