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| The lighted Arc de Triomphe (sp?) was fantastic and a perfect backdrop for the awards presentations. Well done! The final winners? Chris Froome won the yellow and the Tour, the mountaineer from Columbia - Nairo Quintana took second as well as the polka-dot and white jerseys, and Oliver Rodriguez won third. Peter Sagan won the green jersey and Team Saxo-Tinkoff won the team award. Congratulations All! |
Our Sunday was filled with the wake for my Father-by-Marriage. My DH was restless, so even though things didn't get started until 3:00 pm, we were at my f-b-m's house at 11:00 am making sure that we had everything we wanted to display at the wake boxed up and my DH had his facts correct for what he wanted to say. He was looking forward to his remembrance speech/dreading his speech and jumpy about giving it. I knew he needed to say whatever he wanted so I kept myself out of it.
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| This huge cemetery monument depicts an open coffin and escaping spirit. It's in Philadelphia at the Laurel Hill Cemetery. |
We got to the funeral home two hours early and were joined by the immediate family fairly soon. We set things up and said good-bye to this man who was a force in our lives for so long. I don't know why it is always so odd to see a dead body, but they absolutely NEVER look like they did when alive. He was lying there, nicely dressed and holding a rosary. One of the first things my sister-in-law asked her daughter to get were the rosary beads which she got and put into her pocket. *sigh* I don't know why he couldn't have been buried with them. It's not as if there aren't many others at his home that he used, but apparently she wanted those particular ones.
The relatives and friends of the family came out in droves. As usual, I was very impressed by how large a family I married into unknowingly. My nieces Mary and Catie said some really lovely things about my F-b-M, and my DH said his speech - a bit haltingly and disjointedly, but he made it through. The former parish priest had been contacted while he was on the road up to Minnesota from Arizona and he came to lead prayers. It was really nice to see him again - he's one of the good ones.
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| Most modern monuments are really boring and cookie-cutter. I really liked this one, though. A bit more innovative. |
After three very long hours (and sore feet from wearing unfamiliar shoes) we wrapped it up and the family all gathered for dinner at Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que. We set up a table for 20 and should have made it for closer to 25 - Holly and Joe ended up at a side table. Oops! But dinner was really good - certainly not on my Weight Watcher's plan, but as I remind myself, I can eat anything, just have to be aware of what I eat and moderate it.
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| Whatever happened to the practice of mausoleums? I love looking at these small buildings built for the dead. But then again - I love wandering cemeteries, especially the older ones with fantastic sculpture. |
In four-and-a-half hours we will meet at the funeral home and then go to the parish church for the funeral mass, then we'll drive to the cemetery for the internment and then back to the parish for a funeral luncheon. Then this whole thing will finally be done and we can begin living a very different life - one in which the daily care of my Father-by-Marriage won't feature, where phone calls at night or during sporting events won't be from him, and when we remember things we want to tell him, only to remember that we can no longer do that. We'll miss him.
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