Emotional Rollercoaster

I'M HOME!
Well, ok, not really home, more at my second home. I will not be home home till tomorrow, or Tuesday(my birthday!). This weekend was very emotional for me. I am not sure how I would have made it through with out having my family there. And they were all going through the same thing. It's very difficult when someone in your family passes away, so I am told. I have not had to experiance a death, but only 3 times, that I can remember in my adult life. There was my grandmother's niece, who was more of an aunt to my mother and her siblings, and like a second grandmother to me, Emmy. But she passed when I was younger, I didn't go to her funeral. My grandmother passed away 3 years ago, then was a woman who was a close friend to my grandmother and again, like an aunt to my aunts and uncles. And lastly, my grandfather. It does not get easier with each passing event. I think this last weekend was especially rought for everyone, because noone was prepared for it to happen so soon. With the others before, they had been ill and we knew when it would be time. I mean, we knew that the time would come, but this was all too sudden, Many of my family, and extended family are still quite in shock.
The services were held at the same location as my grandmother's. and his ashes will be burried with her ashes in May. Now, Grandpa was not a religous man, but he was spiritual, and he would have enjoyed the service. I gave a reading from the Book of John 14:1-4

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."
"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
"You know the way to the place where I am going."

After the readings my aunt Cathy gave his eulogy. It was very nice. Of course, it made everyone cry. Then after everything was said, we watched a video montage. My aunt Darcie and uncle Kevin are great at putting those together. We all gathered in the back of the church and passed hugs, hand in hand with a tissue. I think everyone hugged everyone at least once, and thats a lot of hugs. I have a HUGE family. It was nice.There was a reception held by the VFW in town. Since my grandfather is a Life Member we got to use their hall. They served sanwiches and chips and potatoe salad, cookies and punch. Luncheon style. After a few hours of visiting I joined the majority of my adult cousins in the bar portion. I told myself this weekend I was not going to drink, for 2 reasons, a) I know that it's not good to participate and propogate depression through alcoholic comsumption, and b) I was there with my ENTIRE family, which includes recovering AA members and not to mention my mother. Needless to say, I was exhausted, I could not argue with the comfey bar stool, and I orderd a drink. All my cousins looked at me like I was nuts, like I had just fallen off my rocker. They're like, "Since when do you drink?!" To which I say, "When was the last time we were in a bar together?" The answer, never. We don't ever get together enough to have these "quality family" moments of drunkenness. And see, the thing that we are realizing and the reason we ARE in the bar, drinking, is because we know that it is going to soon be becoming a regular event. I know that's kind of morbid, but it's true. A lot of our family is getting up in age and we are going to be at these things more and more. Also amongst the topics of conversation are that us cousins(of legal drinking age, of course), should be getting together more often(drinks or no), seeing one another and just plain 'ol keeping in touch.
Later, around 6, we took the younger kids swimming at the hotel. It was a lot of fun. They have a kiddie pool for little ones, and a regular pool with a basketball hoop at one end, and a water slide, and of course a hot tub. The kids were all having a blast but the rest of us who were not swimming could hardly breathe because the air was so heavy and filled with chlorine. I couldn't sit any longer and watch literally 70 or so children under the age of 11 running everywhere. Not all of them were part of my family, only 6 were ours. The others were just guests at the hotel or there for one of two birthday parties. So when my cousin Molly called and said they were coming over to pick me up and we were going out to have a drink, I was all on that, lol.
Now, Watertown is a fairly ok size town, 25,000 pop. Also I should mention, on every corner and even in the middle of a block in this town is a casino, and with every casino is usually a bar. Molly and I convinced my other cousin, Tyler, her not anymore-step brother and his girlfriend Amanda to come along also. We decided to head to a bar close to our hotel back down the interstate. It was an ok place, could have been better if they knew how to mix a drink properly. We played darts, and tried to order shots of Rupplemintz, no luck. Goldschlager, nope. Yag? Well sure! Who doesn't have Yag on hand... but see, we ordered Yag-bombs, Yag and Red Bull, what we got was straight Yag. So of course I am expecting a little fizz, and when I got no fizz I spilled down my shirt. Not a lot, but enough to make me look like an idiot. We had enough of that place, and decided that we were going back to the VFW. They had good drinks, and we knew where it was.
It was so much fun just to sit and have a conversation with my cousins. We talked about what was happening in our lives, what was going on in the world, with our family. We shared memories that made us cry, and ones that made us laugh. I need more of that in my life. We made plans to hang out more, and not let the time slide on by. Granted, we don't live anywhere near one another, but, that's what road trips are for!
After bar close we all wanted to do some more remembering, so we drove out to the Lake House, Grandma and Grandpa's old house that all of us grangkids remember. The parents will all tell you they never grew up in that house, that their's was the house on 2nd St. They may not have had a childhood there, but we all grew up for that house, it was Grandma and Grandpa's retreat, we all grew with that house. Tyler, Molly and I sat remembering a lot of times in that house, holidays and visits, vacations in the summer, and breaks in the winter. More hugs. We wanted to get out and go walk around, but I said I didn't think it would be a good idea. Some were still a little tippsy, and it was only -8 degrees. Not to mention it was around 2 am and the property was not in the family anymore. Enough emotion was had by all this weekend, time to go to sleep. I drove back to the hotel and because it was really late and I didnt have my room key I crashed in thier room, only to be up and ready to leave for home by 8:00 am. Definately going to need to get stuff together so we can all hang out more.

If ever there is something to think about... its this, the heart does 3 things...The bad times are usually remembered, the good times are mostly kept. But a Love shared will always grow, which it will never forget.