September 8, 2008~The Funeral & The Burial

I get up early on Monday, September 8th, so I can take a shower and deal with the commute to Charlies town, which will surely take more than the 1/2 hour it usually takes because of work traffic. There is something going on at the funeral home at 8:45 that I didn't plan on attending. I knew it would be hard enough to get to the church by 9 am for the service. I wake K. up and she gets dressed. She really doesn't want to go. She is sad she is missing her 4th day of school and for a funeral too. Alas, I play mom again, and tell her she has to go. We get in the car and go. We arrived at the church, just as the hearse is pulling up. I quickly park the car. At Charlies church, the way they do it is the hearse comes with the casket, and the pallbearers take the casket out while the church bells ring and everyone watches. They move the casket into the church and open it up. K. and I proceed to the front of the church. The open casket is right by us and I can tell K. is getting anxious. I ask her if she wants to move and she said yes. We go to the back of the church and sit with K's adult cousin Lisa and her two kids. K. plays with the little kids almost the entire service. I think she needed that. Toward the very end of the service, everyone in the church files through to go by the casket to say goodbye, one final time, before the lid is closed forever. K. and I are in line and my brother and sister in law are right in front of us. K. gets up to the casket and starts sobbing and saying "bye daddy, I Love You!" She was standing there looking at him but my sister-in-law, though trying to be helpful, was trying to pull her away. I kind of shooed her along and let K. stay for a few more seconds. I said my goodbye and we walked back to our seats. After the congregation all passed the casket, the priest says a prayer, and may have put some holy water on him and closes the casket.

We all follow the hearse to the cemetery, blowing through every red light. Once there, we were all given flowers to eventually be put on top of the casket after it is slightly lowered into the ground. Family was given roses and everyone else got carnations.....Guess what I got???? WRONG! I got a rose! But K. got a carnation so I gave her my rose! The prayers were said, the flowers put on top of the half lowered casket, the priest takes some dirt with a shovel and puts a cross on the casket, then we all left. I guess the burial part is done after everyone leaves.

Now we are headed to some Italian Restaurant for the luncheon or repast. I sat amongst some of Charlies cousins, and K. sat with her Nana and aunts and the priest and his wife. That was fine by me,.....wherever she felt comfortable. I think lunch ended about 2:30 and we headed home. K. was wondering if she could go for the last few minutes of school....we didn't get back in time. It was a long, long, long two weeks and I was exhausted!!!!!