And now you know... the rest of the story
So I've been avoiding updating because I just have so much to write. That and I've had an immense amount of Psychology and English work to catch up on.
So, here's the story. My Great Aunt Mary died last Wednesday around 5:30 pm. I was promised when my Great Uncle Jack died that I could go to this funeral. Well, when I got the news I immediately asked if I could go, reminding Dabbie of her promise. She said she'd have to talk to Po about it and call me back. To make a long story short, I ended up being on the phone with Tee late trying to find flights that worked for Dabbie and I to fly up. We found one that left Friday morning around 7:50. So after my lab got out Thursday, Steph and I started back to Orlando. We left here about 9 and arrived there around 12:30. There was no traffic, so it was a clear road. I didn't settle down enough to sleep until about 1:30. Gah.
Dab and I got up about 5 am to get ready and get to the airport. The line for baggage check was so long I was afraid we would be pushing our time, even though we were there so early. Anyway. We caught our flight, got to Hartford around 10:20. We got our rental car and started out for Northampton, MA. Well, you have to be 21 or older to drive the rental, so Dabbie ended up driving the highway. Mind you, my grandother avoids highways at all cost because she's such a bad driver. I had to keep telling her that 45 was not sufficient and that she needed to be going at least 50. >.> Goodness.
We get to my Kooka's house and this is where it all starts going downhill. My Kooka (Dabbie's soon-to-be-82-year-old sister) has been having memory issues in the past few months and my grandma's already had to go up there around my birthday to take care of things. Anyway. One of the first things she asks us is if we've seen Grammy (their mother). She's called Dab with this question before. SO Dab explains to her how thye've been dead for years. ...
I'll spare you some more minor details, but she repeats herself constantly. She keeps trying to pay bills that Dabbie paid last month. The new bills are put down and forgotten... it's just a mess. She doesn't wash the dishes or take baths (she has an old claw-foot bath tub that even I have trouble getting into because it's so high!), even though she does "wash up" in the sink. We had to do her laundry, including her bed clothes. I don't know how many times she asked me if I wanted a donut or a cookie (about the only thing she would really eat while we were there) or how many times she would ask me about singing at church.
My Aunt Nancy (2nd cousin, really) asked me to sing at Aunt Mary's funeral. Of course I said I would. We told Kooka that I was singing, and I know she misunderstood us because she thought we meant regular Mass and, much to Dabbie's annoyance, kept calling it my "debut". She must have asked me five times an hour before and after the funeral when I was singing. Needless to say, she was not up in time to go to the funeral, which was just as well.
The funeral was lovely. I got to spend a ton of time with my family. I absolutely love my extended family. Well, the Fortier side, anyway. I'm not close at all to the Misch side. But my family is so much fun and they all have such interesting stories.
Minus the fact of Kooka's failing health and everything that happened there, I had a good time (considering the situation). I got to spend some quality time with my best friend ever -- my (third) cousin Cassie. I just love Northampton. Even though we only go there once a year (if I'm lucky), it has always felt more like home to me than Orlando. I hope to one day take the house my Kooka's in now and renovate it and live there for a little while. That's my dream, and Dabbie and I talked about it a little bit. We mostly talked about what needed to be done with it (new pipes, electrical, a washer/dryed, new stove/oven...) and how we would do it. It's in a prime location -- about a 7-10 minute walk from downtown and from Smith College.
I'm working on four hours of sleep due to catching up on psychology and english writings... but tonight Josh, me, and maybe Tawatha and Stephanie are going to see All Night Yahtzee, a mixed acapella group. I'm excited. =)
I'M DONE WITH CLASSES!!!!!!!!! And I only have two exams!! WHOOT!!!!!!!
So, here's the story. My Great Aunt Mary died last Wednesday around 5:30 pm. I was promised when my Great Uncle Jack died that I could go to this funeral. Well, when I got the news I immediately asked if I could go, reminding Dabbie of her promise. She said she'd have to talk to Po about it and call me back. To make a long story short, I ended up being on the phone with Tee late trying to find flights that worked for Dabbie and I to fly up. We found one that left Friday morning around 7:50. So after my lab got out Thursday, Steph and I started back to Orlando. We left here about 9 and arrived there around 12:30. There was no traffic, so it was a clear road. I didn't settle down enough to sleep until about 1:30. Gah.
Dab and I got up about 5 am to get ready and get to the airport. The line for baggage check was so long I was afraid we would be pushing our time, even though we were there so early. Anyway. We caught our flight, got to Hartford around 10:20. We got our rental car and started out for Northampton, MA. Well, you have to be 21 or older to drive the rental, so Dabbie ended up driving the highway. Mind you, my grandother avoids highways at all cost because she's such a bad driver. I had to keep telling her that 45 was not sufficient and that she needed to be going at least 50. >.> Goodness.
We get to my Kooka's house and this is where it all starts going downhill. My Kooka (Dabbie's soon-to-be-82-year-old sister) has been having memory issues in the past few months and my grandma's already had to go up there around my birthday to take care of things. Anyway. One of the first things she asks us is if we've seen Grammy (their mother). She's called Dab with this question before. SO Dab explains to her how thye've been dead for years. ...
I'll spare you some more minor details, but she repeats herself constantly. She keeps trying to pay bills that Dabbie paid last month. The new bills are put down and forgotten... it's just a mess. She doesn't wash the dishes or take baths (she has an old claw-foot bath tub that even I have trouble getting into because it's so high!), even though she does "wash up" in the sink. We had to do her laundry, including her bed clothes. I don't know how many times she asked me if I wanted a donut or a cookie (about the only thing she would really eat while we were there) or how many times she would ask me about singing at church.
My Aunt Nancy (2nd cousin, really) asked me to sing at Aunt Mary's funeral. Of course I said I would. We told Kooka that I was singing, and I know she misunderstood us because she thought we meant regular Mass and, much to Dabbie's annoyance, kept calling it my "debut". She must have asked me five times an hour before and after the funeral when I was singing. Needless to say, she was not up in time to go to the funeral, which was just as well.
The funeral was lovely. I got to spend a ton of time with my family. I absolutely love my extended family. Well, the Fortier side, anyway. I'm not close at all to the Misch side. But my family is so much fun and they all have such interesting stories.
Minus the fact of Kooka's failing health and everything that happened there, I had a good time (considering the situation). I got to spend some quality time with my best friend ever -- my (third) cousin Cassie. I just love Northampton. Even though we only go there once a year (if I'm lucky), it has always felt more like home to me than Orlando. I hope to one day take the house my Kooka's in now and renovate it and live there for a little while. That's my dream, and Dabbie and I talked about it a little bit. We mostly talked about what needed to be done with it (new pipes, electrical, a washer/dryed, new stove/oven...) and how we would do it. It's in a prime location -- about a 7-10 minute walk from downtown and from Smith College.
I'm working on four hours of sleep due to catching up on psychology and english writings... but tonight Josh, me, and maybe Tawatha and Stephanie are going to see All Night Yahtzee, a mixed acapella group. I'm excited. =)
I'M DONE WITH CLASSES!!!!!!!!! And I only have two exams!! WHOOT!!!!!!!