Waxing poetic on our trip
Now that I've had some semblance of sleep - I can post about things.
Christmas with my in-laws was good. I gave hubby a matted and framed photo of Three Rivers Stadium along with a nice description. He gave me a GPS. It's a sweet little piece of tech that I like very much. Aside from needing the extra blankets sleeping in a freezing basement of my in-laws house - the stay was pleasant.
Our trip into Philly took about 5.5 hours. We wound up staying over at my brothers house. My other brother also stayed there. We stayed up until about 2 or so AM playing Rock Star World Tour. What's nice about staying there is that we get to spend some serious quality time with my nephews and we usually get to laugh. This trip was harder for my SIL since this month alone she's been to three funerals. One was a friend of hers that died of cancer, a week later her best friend's husband died, and there was another one that I can't remember at the moment. She is just about emotionally spent.
The funeral for my aunt was as good as a funeral can be I suppose. My cousins decided to do something that's considered "old school" if you will. The funeral was graveside with the casket already in the ground. Then towards the end, before the mourner's kaddish is said - the family puts the dirt on the casket. The sound of the dirt hitting the casket is to say the least, heartbreaking. The first "shovel full" is done with the shovel backwards, then it's done regularly. My mom held up remarkably well (this was her sister), compared to my other family members.
At this particular cemetery, alot of my family members are buried there. My uncles, my grandparents (from my mother's side), and my cousin/godson Ean - who died last year of an OD. My cousin Lori (Ean's mom) was there at my aunt's funeral along with her husband and sons. After my aunt's funeral, we visited Ean's spot on the Mauseleum. Lori yelled at marker "Ean, WAKE UP!! Wake up! I want you to come home!" I wish I had *that* voice that could wake him up and make him whole and healthy. But all I could do is hold Lori's hand and walk with her.
From the cemetery, we went to my cousin's house for shiva. They had the wedding pictures of my aunt and uncle and I marveled at how stunning they both were in that time. They also had other photos of my aunt holding her grandchildren, and other family members. We stayed there for a few hours and got caught up with other relatives.
Traveling back was a bit of a bear. A trip that should have been 3 hours, took closer to four due to the four mile back up in Delaware at that one pain in the ass toll booth, and another back up that was due to people looking at flashy lights across the road. We are glad to be home sleeping in our bed, with our dogs.
We won't be doing any major road traveling for quite some time...
Christmas with my in-laws was good. I gave hubby a matted and framed photo of Three Rivers Stadium along with a nice description. He gave me a GPS. It's a sweet little piece of tech that I like very much. Aside from needing the extra blankets sleeping in a freezing basement of my in-laws house - the stay was pleasant.
Our trip into Philly took about 5.5 hours. We wound up staying over at my brothers house. My other brother also stayed there. We stayed up until about 2 or so AM playing Rock Star World Tour. What's nice about staying there is that we get to spend some serious quality time with my nephews and we usually get to laugh. This trip was harder for my SIL since this month alone she's been to three funerals. One was a friend of hers that died of cancer, a week later her best friend's husband died, and there was another one that I can't remember at the moment. She is just about emotionally spent.
The funeral for my aunt was as good as a funeral can be I suppose. My cousins decided to do something that's considered "old school" if you will. The funeral was graveside with the casket already in the ground. Then towards the end, before the mourner's kaddish is said - the family puts the dirt on the casket. The sound of the dirt hitting the casket is to say the least, heartbreaking. The first "shovel full" is done with the shovel backwards, then it's done regularly. My mom held up remarkably well (this was her sister), compared to my other family members.
At this particular cemetery, alot of my family members are buried there. My uncles, my grandparents (from my mother's side), and my cousin/godson Ean - who died last year of an OD. My cousin Lori (Ean's mom) was there at my aunt's funeral along with her husband and sons. After my aunt's funeral, we visited Ean's spot on the Mauseleum. Lori yelled at marker "Ean, WAKE UP!! Wake up! I want you to come home!" I wish I had *that* voice that could wake him up and make him whole and healthy. But all I could do is hold Lori's hand and walk with her.
From the cemetery, we went to my cousin's house for shiva. They had the wedding pictures of my aunt and uncle and I marveled at how stunning they both were in that time. They also had other photos of my aunt holding her grandchildren, and other family members. We stayed there for a few hours and got caught up with other relatives.
Traveling back was a bit of a bear. A trip that should have been 3 hours, took closer to four due to the four mile back up in Delaware at that one pain in the ass toll booth, and another back up that was due to people looking at flashy lights across the road. We are glad to be home sleeping in our bed, with our dogs.
We won't be doing any major road traveling for quite some time...