A Celebration of Life
Auntie & SMEThanks everyone, for your kind comments and condolences!
I know it sounds weird, but SME was right....we had a great time at Auntie's funeral. So far our family has been blessed with longevity and no fatal tragedies. When a member of our family dies, we send them off with abundant love and countless memories. SME has attended several of these funerals, and knows how much love and laughter is shared. SME was also right about Auntie's age. If I would have stopped to think how old Z was at her 80th birthday party, I would have realized that she was only 91. Duh!
Auntie was the 2nd of 6 children; the oldest daughter. She was born almost totally deaf. Auntie lived a fairly sheltered life, working on the family farm. When my grandparents retired and bought a Victorian house in town, Auntie moved with them and started working in town.
Children were the greatest joy of Auntie's life, and she loved spending time with her nieces and nephew. As we grew up and had children of our own, Auntie became an important part of our kid's lives too. Auntie didn't marry until she was 51, so she had no children of her own. In fact Auntie never actually lived with her husband. He took care of his mother and worked the family farm, and Auntie worked in town and took care of my Grandma. It was a weird relationship, but it worked for them. Auntie lost her husband in the early 80's.
After my Grandma died in 1986, Auntie moved into a sr. citizen's retirement apartment. She thrived in this environment. Auntie went on several tours with her group of friends from her building, and saw more of the world than she had ever seen before. She even learned how to shoot pool.
The last 10 years of Auntie's life were spent in the nursing home. The last 5 years she slipped into the world in her own mind and no longer recognized any of us. None of us wanted her to have to live like this. It was time for her to go. We have no doubt that she is now happily reunited with our other loved ones who preceded her to heaven. We're happy for her.
posted by tshsmom @ 4:37 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
Awesome. I'm so glad you had a good time and got to catch up with everybody. :)
Like I told you; we were a bit sick and twisted at times, but we all had a ball!
You and I were lucky to be born into THIS side of the family!
I am glad you got to go. It sounds like a wonderful time. Just remember the good times though like sme told me to do when she e-mailed me a couple of days ago now. Tweets.
Rats, blogger just ate my comment! It does sound a bit strange to say that you had fun at a funeral, but given the circumstances (long life etc.), I think that was the healthy way to send her off. I'm sorry you lost someone dear to you, but I'm glad you got to enjoy your family and memories of her.
That's a sweet picture. :) It is a relief when someone in that condition does pass on to the next life. My dad was only like that for a week, and that was hard enough. We had fun, though, too, after the funeral. And he would have wanted it that way. :) I'm glad you got a chance to reconnect with people. :)
A fantastic tribute to your aunt! It's apparent that you loved her very much, as did others. Thanks for letting us into that personal and inspiring part of your life and history. She sounds like she was an intersting, loving woman. So glad you had a good time, and are home safe and sound. (I know funerals in my family are emotional during the services and all, then, everyone seems to relax and sort of cut loose. Strangely fun! We all think it's sick that we only get together at funerals anymore. That's life! )
What a loving tribute. Sorry for your loss, happy for your wonderful memories.
You know sme you were a cute baby. I wish I could find one of me. To put on my blog sometime. I think my mom has them all. And gosh only knows where she put her photo album for me to seize the picture from. She never took a lot of pix of me anytime through my childhood so I dont have very many pix of me as a child. But doesnt she look happy people sitting up on that arm looking around. LOL...
Tweets, some of our memories were rather bizarre, but we loved Auntie anyway.
Euro, tell me about it! Blogger wouldn't let me make paragraphs...AGAIN!
Candace, I don't want my passing to be mourned either. Celebrate my life!
Thanks Cherie!
Ever since my Grandma's funeral, we've all made the effort to get together other times, besides funerals. We want OUR family memories to be something besides funerals.
VV, THANKS! This was Z's first funeral. He got a LOT of great memories!
Tweets, that's so sad. L only has 2 pictures from when he was a kid. Our kids have at least 3 albums EACH, of childhood pictures.
Wow. I know I have lots of pix of the girls. I have them on disks now insead of in photo albums but they are always welcome to look at them with my permission on the computer anytime. I bet if I developed all the photos I would have about that many also or close to with both of them. I have more of them together than I do alone. But that is ok though. It is sad that my mom didnt like taking pix. You know she owns a digital camera now but how often will she use it. Not often because like I told her today when she called if and when we come home in July when Sme and SS go up there we are only going to be up there for day or two. Not long at all. I told her we might be up there for one night spend a few hours with you guys and sme and SS and then leave right away. It depends on how much we have at that point to stay two nights. We will just have to wait and see. Tweets.
Godspeed Auntie!
My family is Irish, so we have wakes. It certainly doesn't mean we miss the person any less. But it honors them to have a celebration. It's also one of the reasons that family members get together.
If you guys were a bit sick and twisted at times, then I have to ask. Are we related???
Glad you're back.
What a lovely tribute. I identify with her!
Some day I'll horrify you with my family's funeral stories. One of them.....curl your hair it would.
What a blessing she was!
Sounds like Auntie was a person of her own! No, being in a nursing home helpless is not a good way to be - she's probably having a great time now!
Hey tshsmom. I have a question before I forget again. Are you sure you dont have a twin hidden in G B WI any where?? I was sitting outside with B on Monday and one of our neighbors stopped by as she was walking to get some gravy for there supper and stopped me. She introduced herself but reminded me a lot of you. LOL... The only thing I dont think she does is smoke. But she stood there and talked for about twenty minutes with me. LOL... Very friendly neighbors from what I am seeing. I like that. Just where I know some of them. Tweets. Ps had to pick on you a little. Have a good evening.
Thanks DC, I'm sure she's there already! ;)
Squirl, with genes like yours and Bucky's, we could very well be related!
Have you ever noticed how much a coffin resembles a dumpster? We did. We loaded that sucker up with all of Auntie's prize possessions that the Goodwill wouldn't touch with a 10 ft pole.
Sick and twisted? Just a bit.
Bridg, you'll have to post your funeral story.
Monica, she was!
Gardenia, we're all wondering if she lives with her husband now, or if they still live with their parents. ;)
Tweets, she's definitely not my twin. I would NEVER buy gravy! I make my own. ;)
Good neighbors are a blessing!
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