(no subject)
There is nothing quite so bizarre and draining as a funeral. I have been to a few in my lifetime, but only when I was young and not particularly close to the deceased person. This time, however, it's a little bit closer to home. Scratch that - a LOT closer to home. My grandmother was an important presence in my life. Even though I only knew her as an invalid confined to a wheelchair in a nursing home, she still made an impression on me with her courage and cheerfulness. And especially her humor. There was seldom a time when I didn't laugh around my grandmother. I'm glad I at least got to visit her one more time last Christmas. It was an unusual and exceptional visit, really, couldn't have been more opportune. Seeing her body in the coffin, though... that was pretty intense. She looked frighteningly unfamiliar, yet I almost expected her to sit up, climb out, and give us her trademark grin. Which sort of reminds me of a dream I had some time ago, this past semester. I was in her room at the nursing home with the rest of the immediate family. She had just died, and she was sitting in her wheelchair, and there was some confusion or argument going on among us. After some time went by, it suddenly transpired that she was not dead after all, but miraculously able to walk and function as a normal human being again. I like to think that "somewhere she's dancing" now (to quote my father). It was more than time for her to leave her crippled body behind. I will miss her, but there will always be happy memories.