A touching moment

The funeral was today.

It started in the other county ( the one I don't live in anymore). My family and I met at the funeral home. We said our private final goodbye's and went to our cars.

As we were leaving the limo driver stopped those of us driving ourselves and told us to be sure we were following the hearse with the limo behind it. Both funerals at the funeral home were going to the same cemetary. Ironic because the cemetary was at the absolute furthest point before the forks on Long Island.

So We all queu up. First car was the limo, then Aunt Carol ( my step dad's first wife) with my sister and husband. then my youngest brother with his very pregnant wife due in three weeks, then me.

At the last second my older brother come BARRELLING into the funeral home with his tribe in tow.

We all set off, flashers going. This is the longest part of the day. A full hours trip to the church and cemetary each direction.

The service was lovely. I thought it was very interesting actually. Being that my step dad's mom was 101, the only people there were my siblings, myself, my parents, Aunt Carol, UB's 2 cousins and their spouses. my nieces and nephews and one couple we are good friends with. All in total we were a crowd of 22. All but 4 were family.

The priest made an interesting comment. That a small crowd at the funeral of someone whose 101 is actually a happy thing. It means less people to mourn and more people to greet on the other side. I liked that. I thought, Wow that's a really neat thought. Even if it's not true - and I believe that it is - it's peaceful to think about.

So we leave the church, we head to cemetary. St Isadore's has their own cemetary. It's not close. Or not as close as you might think.

It's tiny too. And it's in the Sticks. I mean seriously the sticks. We are talking fields, ,farmland a cow in the next pasture watching us as we said our goodbyes. An Agway!!!! I didn't even know we had a NEED for an Agway here. There were NO street signs, no Street Lights. Thank goodness it was broad daylight or I would STILL be tooling around out there.

We say our final prayers and our our final goodbyes. We return to our cars to go to lunch at my parent's favorite restaurant. I was sitting alone in my car waiting for everyone to get ready to go. My oldest nephew is 13. He's usually a bit of a wise guy. I mean. this is a kid who tried to seel his brother on ebay a few years back.

So he was walking to his parent's car, which was behind mine, and he stopped and walked back to the backside of the gravesite which was next to my car ( this was a SMALL cemetary - the size of a plot of land for a home). I saw him stop and look at the coffin, put his hand on the coffin for just a moment. Bowed his head and said a quick prayer. He looked up, looked me right in the eye, smiled, winked and walked back to the car. It was so touching. He was probably only one of two of the children in his family old enough to have a relationship with his great grandmother that he will remember forever. I had my great grandmother until I was 30 years old. These are precious memories. And though My older brother is tough person to get along with, his children had that relationship with their great grandmother which is truelly priceless.

It was a moment to be remembered for life. It was the kind of thing that made me wish I could preserve it on film - immortalize it in some way. This description and my memory are the only records of it now.

Anna is at peace now. She is with Ed.