Celebration of Life

We were up early; thunder awoke me. We were able to have a leisurely morning before heading to Maryville. We stopped for fuel at the Buc-Cee’s along the route. My sister called while I was there. Our mother is not feeling well so she will not be going to WV with us. Our other sister Barbara has decided she does not need our help; our BIL plans to go to radiation treatments on his own. Our mother will not be coming to stay with me. All our work last week… I guess we’ll put everything back when we get home from WV. But I am happy for our BIL if he has no ill/debilitating effects from the radiation. My sister asked me to bring her a birthday surprise from Buc Cee’s. She needed a pick me up since she has to repack everything for WV with the change in plans. She has heard so much about those monstrous gas stations. I think she will love what we chose. We got to the celebration of life early and drove around to some of hubby’s old haunts. It is always fun to see what’s changed since our last visit to a town. All of Charlie’s siblings and their spouses/children were at the celebration. Hubby grew up with them so it was a nice reunion for him. Charlie honored all but one of Barbara’s wishes. She thought the number of attendees would be able to fit in their retirement condo. Charlie wisely reserved the Methodist social hall and they still under estimated how many tables they’d need. Charlie was receiving friends in line for over two hours. As you can see, her favorite color combo was purple and yellow. They even served her favorite donuts at the reception. I am sure she was smiling down on everyone. Barbara, a devoted mother, wife and friend, was well loved. And so is Charlie. They had many wonderful years together so I am sure his loss is strong. He plans to visit their daughter in Oregon as a coping mechanism. We left in time to get to Mass not far from Mike’s apartment. We will check in to our hotel and hopefully see some of the kids this evening. The weather was beautiful after the morning rain. Wishing you good weather for your weekend. Stay safe. Thanks for dropping by. “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.”
- Leo Tolstoy