Back home...waiting on the storm.....

You've no doubt seen the snow up north, the rains and tornadoes down south. We've heard what Carolina was looking for the last two nights, but now we know what they're thinking back home here in Richmond.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight, plenty of wind through Monday. So, we'll see what happens...kicking back all afternoon and evening tomorrow watching rain fall really won't be a problem with me. :)

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The funeral took place Friday for Grannie. Not a cloud in the sky, but windy and plenty of sun...enough that I got some burn on the face while out in the cemetery. Saw some relatives I hadn't seen since Mama died, one who didn't remember me (which was hilarious!) and got to hang with bro for awhile, which is always good, even in the saddest of situations.

As a pallbearer, I did have one really important factor to remember, and my brother kept it at the forefront of my mind. Make sure I'm on the "left arm" side of the casket, so I don't use my right shoulder, which is permanently on the disabled list in terms of how much weight it can carry. And all went well, until we took the short walk behind the hearse to the gravesite, and as the casket is brought out, I see that process turns around at this point.

Ut oh. Well, I improvised and did a "shuffle step" using both arms to carry the casket. Everything worked out fine. The service was a service; I have thoughts about it that I decline to share.

I took the children over and showed them Grannie's parents; my Great Grandparents, and their Great-Great Grandparents. Grannie's dad died very young (at 43 in 1937), but her mom lived 87 years and I got to know her really well. My favorite "Granny Robert" story (yes, we used the first name of the grandad to identify both; I don't know why, I just heard my siblings do it when I was little and followed suit) was when we'd have breakfast.

The last six years of her life she lived with Grannie and Granddaddy Frank after her second husband passed. So when I went down to visit for several days I got to hang out with her, too. You'd think an "early teenager" wouldn't want to spend the day at the home of his grandparents, in their mid to late 60's, and his Great-Grannie, who was in her 80s.

Not so. Grannie Robert and I would sit down for breakfast...of course mine consisted of Grannie Frank's homemade biscuits and homemade butter, churned by a friend at the end of the dirt road. Oh, and field peas. They are dark, NOT mushy, don't taste like a green pea at all, but are NOT black-eyed peas. I could eat them three meals a day at Grannie's. Grannie Robert would sit down with me with her milk and Nabisco Shredded Wheat, and, each morning proclaim, "...time for my bail of hay!". She was so cool.

So, I introduced the kids to their "great-great-grannie", their "great-grannie's" mom. Talked to several people, and, then walked through the cemetery showing the kids and Mom headstones of veterans of World War I and II, one for a man who was born in 1869, or as I told the kids, four years after the Civil War.

Uncle Frank and I both confirmed that our funerals will be "anti-funerals". There will be laughter, celebration; he's thinking about havin' a pig-pickin....each attendant at mine will automatically receive a 24-pack of Mountain Dew just for coming. Neither of us want solemn, because, hey, when I'm gone, I'll be at peace, so why not everybody else? :)

Then back to the hotel for the indoor pool, run out to get food for dinner, watch some TV, get sleepy and go to bed. Oh, forgot that I woke up Friday morning VERY groggy (in other words, like I do on days when I may end up in bed all day; even my wife admitted last night she was worried when she saw me), but God helped me through because I had to be there for Grannie. As soon as we returned to the hotel, Aunt Tammy, mom, and the kids went shopping and I went TO SLEEP!!

Today we shopped, we ate, and we came home. We also made the trip much quicker when the kids decided to play a game of "How many license plates from different states can we find?" And, yes, admit it, you've done that on a road trip, too, either in the back seat as the kid, or the front seat as the parent thinking..."occupied, gotta keep them occupied...so they don't kill each other....."

With Spring Break week for many ending places, the states we saw the most were:

1) New York (overwhelmingly; in fact it got to be a running joke after awhile.)
2) New Jersey
3) Maryland (right on the heels of New Jersey)
4) Pennsylvania
5) Florida

We didn't consider Virginia or North Carolina plates.

We also saw Tennessee, Delaware, District of Columbia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Georgia.

Surprises included Wisconsin, Texas, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho and Arizona.

Canada weighed in with three from Ontario and one from Quebec.

But the kids went NUTS when we saw......Hawaii. Yes, Hawaii. Wow!

Finally, each of us had a state we really wanted to find. Rachel wanted Mississippi and we didn't see any. Dad wanted Maine and we didn't see any. Robbie wanted to see California.

We get off the interstate near home, grab food at Chick-Fil-A, and although Dad earlier proclaimed the game over being now off I-95, Dad couldn't help but drop his jaw as, driving home,I see a car waiting to turn left into a housing area. Yep. License plates from California.

Couldn't let that one go unannounced. :)

So, it's nice to be home and we have a day to rest, unpack, recharge and get ready for the real routine, in effect again, Monday morning. It's also nice to know Grannie is at peace, and the cloud of "waiting for the inevitable" is behind us once more.

If you're out tomorrow anywhere from South Carolina to Maine, be careful!!

Next week, posts devoid of words such as "pallbearer", "cemetery", "tears" and "Mountain Dew".

Well, actually I can only promise you the absence of the first two words. :)