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They're Gone!
Mar. 11th, 2024 01:46 pmElle and Kay, who have been friends of mine for 46 and 24 years respectively, stayed with us for Mom's funeral. Elle is constitutionally unable to pack lightly which makes wrestling her bag up a flight of stairs less than enjoyable. But, and this is important, Elle let me know when she and Kay were due to arrive and depart as soon as they had tickets.
Mom's cousin let us know that she was coming. We expected her on Thursday afternoon or evening, same as Elle and Kay. We told her when she said that she wanted to come that we could pick her up anytime on Thursday. She let us know on Wednesday that she was arriving later that night. Fortunately, our across the street neighbors came and helped us rearrange Mom's room so that it was fit for a guest before Sis came home from work. Since Sis had to work on Thursday, I picked up our cousin. The flight was due at 10:30 (and Sis gets up at 5:30 to be at work for her 8 a.m. class). It arrived at 11:30.
Our cleaning ladies had asked if they could come to the viewing for Mom and we spoke to the supervisor and rearranged their schedule so that they came to clean on Thursday morning -- I just kept them out of the room where the cousin was staying -- and they showed up at the viewing in black, very sad about Mom's passing. They'd said their goodbyes to her the day before she passed, but they wanted to be there which meant a great deal.
One of my first cousins on Dad's side asked if he could stay with us. He let us know from the beginning that he'd be arriving by train the day of the funeral at 6:30 a.m. We asked if he minded sleeping on the pull out sofa, and bless him, he was more than amenable. Sis picked him up since she's used to early mornings.
His half brother, who lives in western Georgia, drove and stayed at a nearby hotel. He came on Thursday, so I cooked for six that night.
The funeral home had been very good with us when Dad died. The gentleman who handled Mom's burial didn't call me back when I asked him to, didn't remember what we'd asked him to do for Mom's service, forgot we were having a viewing, and found us an Episcopal priest to do the service the day before -- and forgot to have the reverend call me. On the plus side, the message that I would come after the minister's liver with a rusty spoon if he even thought about Psalm 23 had been passed on. I never liked that Psalm and was pleasantly surprised when I found out both parents hated it, too.
We somehow ended up with two bagpipers, one of which was terrible. I was thankful he wasn't the only one.
Two of Sis's colleagues joined the rest of us for a nice meal at a French restaurant that Mom liked. It was supposed to be four but one had to deal with his mother's illness and the other one let us know she wasn't feeling well. She was also the one who asked Sis if we could change the date of Mom's funeral. I'm just as happy she wasn't there.
On Saturday, Kay and my cousin asked if we could go to the Owens-Thomas House and Telfair Museum/Jepson Center. The three of us went even though Elle and Mom's cousin had earlier expressed interest. The Owens-Thomas House discussed the role of slavery for the families that had lived there. I was pleasantly surprised that my reciprocal membership at the Virginia Museum worked. That means I should be fine in New York at the Met and in Philadelphia, if I get that organized. The Virginia Museum had the least expensive membership that included reciprocity with Boston, Chicago, several New York Museums, LACMA, and Philadelphia.
One fascinating item in the Owens-Thomas House is that it had gravity powered indoor plumbing and an ice room in the house. Indoor plumbing in the 1820s is pretty major, not that the enslaved were allowed to use it.
On Sunday, Sis got cousin to the train at 7:30. We loaded the other three houseguests into the car -- only 15 minutes later than we wanted which isn't bad for Elle -- and had a good brunch before dropping them at the airport. Their flights took off within two minutes of each other on different airlines. Everyone made it back to DC (Elle and Kay) and Texas (Mom's cousin) all right.
It was a tough few days. Sis is teaching this week. I'm subbing tomorrow, but I'm just quietly recovering this week. I have three more days of subbing this month. Sis and I are going down to Jeckyll Island for two nights next week. Mom enjoyed our stay there in September and it won't start to be crowded until late April, so it seemed like a good place to be quiet, decompress, and mourn.
Mom's cousin let us know that she was coming. We expected her on Thursday afternoon or evening, same as Elle and Kay. We told her when she said that she wanted to come that we could pick her up anytime on Thursday. She let us know on Wednesday that she was arriving later that night. Fortunately, our across the street neighbors came and helped us rearrange Mom's room so that it was fit for a guest before Sis came home from work. Since Sis had to work on Thursday, I picked up our cousin. The flight was due at 10:30 (and Sis gets up at 5:30 to be at work for her 8 a.m. class). It arrived at 11:30.
Our cleaning ladies had asked if they could come to the viewing for Mom and we spoke to the supervisor and rearranged their schedule so that they came to clean on Thursday morning -- I just kept them out of the room where the cousin was staying -- and they showed up at the viewing in black, very sad about Mom's passing. They'd said their goodbyes to her the day before she passed, but they wanted to be there which meant a great deal.
One of my first cousins on Dad's side asked if he could stay with us. He let us know from the beginning that he'd be arriving by train the day of the funeral at 6:30 a.m. We asked if he minded sleeping on the pull out sofa, and bless him, he was more than amenable. Sis picked him up since she's used to early mornings.
His half brother, who lives in western Georgia, drove and stayed at a nearby hotel. He came on Thursday, so I cooked for six that night.
The funeral home had been very good with us when Dad died. The gentleman who handled Mom's burial didn't call me back when I asked him to, didn't remember what we'd asked him to do for Mom's service, forgot we were having a viewing, and found us an Episcopal priest to do the service the day before -- and forgot to have the reverend call me. On the plus side, the message that I would come after the minister's liver with a rusty spoon if he even thought about Psalm 23 had been passed on. I never liked that Psalm and was pleasantly surprised when I found out both parents hated it, too.
We somehow ended up with two bagpipers, one of which was terrible. I was thankful he wasn't the only one.
Two of Sis's colleagues joined the rest of us for a nice meal at a French restaurant that Mom liked. It was supposed to be four but one had to deal with his mother's illness and the other one let us know she wasn't feeling well. She was also the one who asked Sis if we could change the date of Mom's funeral. I'm just as happy she wasn't there.
On Saturday, Kay and my cousin asked if we could go to the Owens-Thomas House and Telfair Museum/Jepson Center. The three of us went even though Elle and Mom's cousin had earlier expressed interest. The Owens-Thomas House discussed the role of slavery for the families that had lived there. I was pleasantly surprised that my reciprocal membership at the Virginia Museum worked. That means I should be fine in New York at the Met and in Philadelphia, if I get that organized. The Virginia Museum had the least expensive membership that included reciprocity with Boston, Chicago, several New York Museums, LACMA, and Philadelphia.
One fascinating item in the Owens-Thomas House is that it had gravity powered indoor plumbing and an ice room in the house. Indoor plumbing in the 1820s is pretty major, not that the enslaved were allowed to use it.
On Sunday, Sis got cousin to the train at 7:30. We loaded the other three houseguests into the car -- only 15 minutes later than we wanted which isn't bad for Elle -- and had a good brunch before dropping them at the airport. Their flights took off within two minutes of each other on different airlines. Everyone made it back to DC (Elle and Kay) and Texas (Mom's cousin) all right.
It was a tough few days. Sis is teaching this week. I'm subbing tomorrow, but I'm just quietly recovering this week. I have three more days of subbing this month. Sis and I are going down to Jeckyll Island for two nights next week. Mom enjoyed our stay there in September and it won't start to be crowded until late April, so it seemed like a good place to be quiet, decompress, and mourn.
