Page 2...

Needless to say, my birthday didn’t feel like my birthday. A whole slew of funeral arrangements were made. One set of arrangements for home and one for Ohio, where my grandfather was to be buried. Several neat blessings however were scattered throughout that day. 1) Nearly my entire family gathered together for a group prayer, a huge feat considering the unbelieving nature of most of my family. 2) All sorts of people, even people not very close to us, were supporting us with prayer, food, and encouragement. 3) Sarah kidnapped me for an hour to whisk me away to Target for Starbucks and my choice of a movie. My pick? “Sweet Home Alabama.” She then proceeded to talk to me the entire time as I had to drive 2.5 hours back to work. I wouldn’t have made it otherwise. 4) My grandmother gave me a pair of hot pink rain boots that had white polka dots on them. The last gift from both of my grandparents together.

I jumped back into work desperate for a distraction. The girls definitely provided it. They spoiled me endlessly as did my co-workers who rearranged their schedules so I could be gone most of the week. Sunday and Monday were blurs. I don’t remember them, but I returned home on Tuesday for my grandfather’s viewing. That morning, while I was trying to catch up on sleep, my mom rushed my dad to the hospital. He had been struggling with the stomach flu since Sunday, and he wasn’t getting better. While visiting my dad before the viewing despite his protests, the doctor said he was doing his best to get him on the plane for the funeral later that week, but it was dad’s choice whether or not to go that night. It was still unknown what was wrong with him. Convinced he had the worst stomach flu ever, he remained in the hospital while we continued on without him.

My grandfather had touched many lives over the span of so many years, so it was interesting to see who showed up for the viewing. I think the most unexpected were the pharmacists from the local pharmacy who had thought my grandfather was so funny. The viewing was touching because of how many people showed up simply to support us. My Dad’s co-workers, our small group, and my high school teachers were just a few of the people that surrounded us. I could literally feel God wrapping his arms around my family through the arms of our friends. He was my co-pilot as I returned back to the farm that night. Again, keeping me awake when I thought it would be impossible.

By Wednesday evening, the doctors still weren’t quite sure what was wrong with my dad and had scheduled surgery for Thursday, the day we left for the funeral. It looked like my siblings and I were going to his dad’s funeral without him. It broke my heart that my dad’s heart was breaking because he couldn’t be there.  Sure enough, my siblings and I flew out the next morning for Ohio alongside of my grandmother and my aunt, uncle, and one cousin without our parents.