TheOtherVillainess
Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter.....
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2003
- Messages
- 6,406
As most of you know, this trip that was supposed to be a great family reunion has turned into a massive clan gathering so that we might all hold each other up during Grampa's funeral on Monday.
DMIL and DFIL took DH, DS and I shopping last night. DH got the whole shebang:sport coat, dress shirt, dressy-casual pants, shoes and belt.
I got a new slippy thing to go under my dress. I thought it was a slip, but when I tried it on to make sure it fit, it turned out to be a pair of shorts. How odd.
DMIL insisted on also buying DS new sandals, since his current ones are rapidly becoming too small. They are also a bit worn and extremely stinky because DS has sweaty feet which stink to high heaven sometimes. It took like 3 hrs (Ok...it was more like 45 min but it felt like 3 hrs) to find shoes she felt comfortable in letting DS wear. I know..I know. I'm his parent and it should be up to DH and I what DS is comfortable wearing at this point because HE (DS) doesn't give a flip. He's like me..he'd rather be barefoot at all times.
Anyway..after 20 min or so, I was kind of annoyed because we realized that in kids' shoes that there are no half sizes. DS is about a 7 1/2. 7 is too small but 8 was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too big for him. So after shopping through the shoe depts at two different Kohl's, DMIL found some sandals she felt comfortable with DS wearing.
Did I mention she also tried to get me to buy a new pair of heels? I hate heels. I wear them if I absolutely have to, but I'm not comfortable in them. I always feel like I'm about to topple over. I ended up getting a pair of black leather ballet-like flats which will go just fine with the black dress I plan on wearing to the funeral.
Which is going to be a VERY traditional Catholic funeral, whatever that means. Grampa and Gramma have been life-long devoted traditional Catholics and according to DFIL, this was discussed when Grampa was still able to discuss what he wanted when the time came.
We went out to dinner and DH,DMIL and DFIL were discussing things they'd done with Grampa. DFIL told a story about how one of his brothers had come to visit a few months ago, before Grampa got really sick. The brother had rented a convertible Chrysler PT Cruiser for the visit and one day, when Gramma had to go out and run some errands, Brother says to Grampa, "Hey, let's go chase some girls!" which Grampa (who always had a terriffic sense of humor) agreed with. Brother tooled around town with Grampa, top down and they both had a wonderful time.
DFIL also told a story that showed how Grampa kept his humor until the very end. DFIL had been up to Michigan off and on for the last six weeks or so and he said a couple of weeks before he died, Grampa scared the living crap out of one of his (DFIL's) sisters. Sister had come up to the hospital to see Grampa, who was laying propped up in bed with his head on his chest, eyes closed. Sister leans in to see if he's awake and Grampa looks up and says "BOO!" loudly, with this grin on his face. Scared Sister to the point where she almost peed her pants.
It's going to be a tough trip for everyone involved because we all loved Grampa so much. I didn't know him all that well, but he always was very kind to me and even bought me my first ornament from Bronner's. It's a clear glass ball painted with pink and green and there is a lace bow around the top.
I'm not sure how DH will handle the funeral, he was kind of close to Grampa. I'll be there to prop him up when he needs propping, along with all of his aunts, uncles and cousins. There are going to be 9 out of the 10 Grampa and Gramma's brood there, along with their spouses and kids. So it's not like we're going to be lonely. I'm sure I'll hear some great stories that I haven't heard before; because in a family that size, there's always some great stories.
I think DH and I are going to get our hair cut tomorrow. He needs it just as badly as I do. I think I'm going to have them lop off six or seven inches of this mess on top of my head. When it gets to be this length I can't do anything with it. Not that I could do anything with it when it was shorter..my hair is still mad at me from the time in 7th grade when I tried to get a 'body wave' and came out with something more akin to a French Poodle 'do.
TOV
DMIL and DFIL took DH, DS and I shopping last night. DH got the whole shebang:sport coat, dress shirt, dressy-casual pants, shoes and belt.
I got a new slippy thing to go under my dress. I thought it was a slip, but when I tried it on to make sure it fit, it turned out to be a pair of shorts. How odd.
DMIL insisted on also buying DS new sandals, since his current ones are rapidly becoming too small. They are also a bit worn and extremely stinky because DS has sweaty feet which stink to high heaven sometimes. It took like 3 hrs (Ok...it was more like 45 min but it felt like 3 hrs) to find shoes she felt comfortable in letting DS wear. I know..I know. I'm his parent and it should be up to DH and I what DS is comfortable wearing at this point because HE (DS) doesn't give a flip. He's like me..he'd rather be barefoot at all times.
Anyway..after 20 min or so, I was kind of annoyed because we realized that in kids' shoes that there are no half sizes. DS is about a 7 1/2. 7 is too small but 8 was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too big for him. So after shopping through the shoe depts at two different Kohl's, DMIL found some sandals she felt comfortable with DS wearing.
Did I mention she also tried to get me to buy a new pair of heels? I hate heels. I wear them if I absolutely have to, but I'm not comfortable in them. I always feel like I'm about to topple over. I ended up getting a pair of black leather ballet-like flats which will go just fine with the black dress I plan on wearing to the funeral.
Which is going to be a VERY traditional Catholic funeral, whatever that means. Grampa and Gramma have been life-long devoted traditional Catholics and according to DFIL, this was discussed when Grampa was still able to discuss what he wanted when the time came.
We went out to dinner and DH,DMIL and DFIL were discussing things they'd done with Grampa. DFIL told a story about how one of his brothers had come to visit a few months ago, before Grampa got really sick. The brother had rented a convertible Chrysler PT Cruiser for the visit and one day, when Gramma had to go out and run some errands, Brother says to Grampa, "Hey, let's go chase some girls!" which Grampa (who always had a terriffic sense of humor) agreed with. Brother tooled around town with Grampa, top down and they both had a wonderful time.
DFIL also told a story that showed how Grampa kept his humor until the very end. DFIL had been up to Michigan off and on for the last six weeks or so and he said a couple of weeks before he died, Grampa scared the living crap out of one of his (DFIL's) sisters. Sister had come up to the hospital to see Grampa, who was laying propped up in bed with his head on his chest, eyes closed. Sister leans in to see if he's awake and Grampa looks up and says "BOO!" loudly, with this grin on his face. Scared Sister to the point where she almost peed her pants.
It's going to be a tough trip for everyone involved because we all loved Grampa so much. I didn't know him all that well, but he always was very kind to me and even bought me my first ornament from Bronner's. It's a clear glass ball painted with pink and green and there is a lace bow around the top.
I'm not sure how DH will handle the funeral, he was kind of close to Grampa. I'll be there to prop him up when he needs propping, along with all of his aunts, uncles and cousins. There are going to be 9 out of the 10 Grampa and Gramma's brood there, along with their spouses and kids. So it's not like we're going to be lonely. I'm sure I'll hear some great stories that I haven't heard before; because in a family that size, there's always some great stories.
I think DH and I are going to get our hair cut tomorrow. He needs it just as badly as I do. I think I'm going to have them lop off six or seven inches of this mess on top of my head. When it gets to be this length I can't do anything with it. Not that I could do anything with it when it was shorter..my hair is still mad at me from the time in 7th grade when I tried to get a 'body wave' and came out with something more akin to a French Poodle 'do.
TOV
