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My grandmother’s funeral was Friday afternoon. It was a small, short service at the funeral home, attended by her surviving sister and her children, her surviving daughter and all her grandchildren, as well as a dozen or so friends. There were a few tears, but only a very few, and the day was filled with far more laughter than crying. My grandmother had, in some ways, been preparing for her death for years, getting rid of the extra clutter of a lifetime and organizing papers and such. During her struggles with her health during the final few weeks, she was clearly ready for the end, perhaps even hopeful that it was imminent. Those same weeks, gave the rest of us time to prepare ourselves, so that when the end came (in a very sudden and peaceful manner), it really wasn’t a shock for anyone. She remained mentally sharp right up to the very end, feisty and stubborn as always.
On Saturday, my parents, siblings and cousins all met at her house, to dig through her remaining possessions to claim anything that we might want before the rest is sold or disposed of to settle the estate. I took some photos (though a cousin took most of the old ones to scan so we can all share them), and a watercolor painted by my late-aunt (depicting roller coasters at an amusement park in Montreal, for my roller coaster loving daughter). I also took the boxes of paperbacks that my mother had picked up at library sales for my grandmother to read, to register and release through BookCrossing. The other thing I took was the stack of War Ration Coupon books from World War II that were in the drawer of the writing desk. Perhaps they should go to the local historical society, but I really wanted to hold on to them, since they have family member names on them.
Ordinarily, a funeral isn’t a preferred reason for a family gathering, but this one turned out to be fairly pleasant, as we remembered the many good memories of my grandmother. Since she was 95 years old, there were *LOTS* of memories, including a number of stories that I hadn’t heard before. Now she’s at peace, and we can remember her long and full life with only minimal sadness.
On Saturday, my parents, siblings and cousins all met at her house, to dig through her remaining possessions to claim anything that we might want before the rest is sold or disposed of to settle the estate. I took some photos (though a cousin took most of the old ones to scan so we can all share them), and a watercolor painted by my late-aunt (depicting roller coasters at an amusement park in Montreal, for my roller coaster loving daughter). I also took the boxes of paperbacks that my mother had picked up at library sales for my grandmother to read, to register and release through BookCrossing. The other thing I took was the stack of War Ration Coupon books from World War II that were in the drawer of the writing desk. Perhaps they should go to the local historical society, but I really wanted to hold on to them, since they have family member names on them.
Ordinarily, a funeral isn’t a preferred reason for a family gathering, but this one turned out to be fairly pleasant, as we remembered the many good memories of my grandmother. Since she was 95 years old, there were *LOTS* of memories, including a number of stories that I hadn’t heard before. Now she’s at peace, and we can remember her long and full life with only minimal sadness.
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