SB has passed on. He passed peacefully with his daughter and a friend with him. 

We have spent the past few days in North Carolina with some old fiends of a the Husband's.

Saturday we attended their daughter's graduated university. We also helped her pack for a move. It was a long emotional day. That evening we drove down to Surf City NC to enjoy a week a the beach. It's very pleasent here. The weather has largely cooperated. Even the rain has been warm and gentle enough that walking in it is pleasant. 

Travel day

​i’m heading out this morning. I’ve already said goodbye to dad. He cried a little then left for his morning bus route.

It’s a travel day for me. I am already getting notices that my flights are delayed.

We have designed and put a down payment on a tombstone for mom and dad.  We put much thought into it. It's simple and elegant-- very similar to other family tombstones, yet reflects my parent's tastes. Mom's side has a little decoration on it. Dad wanted his side to be plain. 

My brother and his wife have just left the family farm for their return trip home. I'm staying a few more days then flying off to a week of vacation with my husband.

The interment was lovely. It was well attended by family. The weather cooperated.

I'm realizing how little I actually know about much of my extended family. I recognize their names and faces, but I probably wouldn't travel to their funerals. Perhaps I'm overthinking this. Most of the family is retired and lives within a 15-minute drive of the church. A few live a few hours away. Only my brother and I must travel across the continent.

My brother puts much effort into memorizing family dates and names, births, marriages, and deaths. On Sunday, we toured other family gravesites. He noticed that I have a cousin who was born less than three months after his parents' marriage. Dad had a good laugh. Dad has always known that uncle and aunt had a shotgun wedding. They kept it hidden as my aunt was training to be a nurse in a city that only had Catholic hospitals. The secret was kept well enough as my aunt went on to have a successful career in nursing.

And my father—he is doing well. There are moments when a little grief creeps up on him. But, by and large, he is in good spirits. He is taking much better care of the house than the last time we were here. He regularly visits neighbors and relatives. He is also enjoying his job as a school bus driver.

May Internment.

​I am back in the Ottawa Valley for my mother’s interment. “What is an interment?” I hear you ask. Well… my mother died last February. In this part of the world, in February, the ground is deeply frozen. People who die in the winter can’t be buried at that time. The burial then, the interment, happens sometime in spring after the thaw. We get together and host a mini funeral. 

My brothers will also be at the internment as will other family. One of my brothers and I both flew red eyes into Ottawa. We will drive the last leg up to my parents home together. 

Every few years I must relearn why I shouldn’t fly red eyeS. They sound attractive— they are less expensive and I can travel without loosing a day, In practice I sleep badly on the jet and can only get a couple hours of shut eye. I’ll be exhausted today. Fortunately, being exhausted is acceptable at a funeral.