My brother had mentioned they already went in, so I thought some of the arrangements had been made. But I guess all they did was look at a few coffins, and for some reason, my dad really wanted me to make alot of the decisions. :( Thank goodness there were several things he spoke up on, because I really didn't want to do it all and there were some things I wouldn't even have known. It did fall totally to me to pick the poem for the little folder they hand out at the service. My brother said he never even looks at them. At least his girlfriend liked what I picked, so I felt I wasn't all alone in the decision. And I was relieved everybody agreed about some of the details like not wanting to have pallbearers and not wanting to stay for the actual burial.
I will say, the people at the funeral home were amazingly helpful. Maybe they all do everything for you, but I really felt these folks went above and beyond. They took care of entering and paying for the obituary, obtaining and paying the minister and even setting up the reception.
My dad really didn't want people in the house, so we decided to go to a restaurant near the cemetary called Las Toros. It is a place we have used for all kinds of family functions, including my dad's surprise 70th birthday party. We used to eat there all the time when we lived in Chatsworth. The guy helping us called the restaurant to set up the time and even pulled up buffet menus online for us to choose from.
One thing I got to thinking about was if my dad was sure if my mom wanted me to have her ring. What if she wanted to be buried with it? So I asked him, and he said she had actually taken it off in the hospital and told him to give it to me. She has been in and out of the hospital several times, so I can't help but think she knew it was her time. This doesn't really go with his story that made it sound like she seemed fine during the night, but I guess that is just where his head was. :(
Then we had the task of getting home and calling people to let them know when the funeral would be (Thursday). At least we have a few people in our family that our good at keeping track of people and were willing to spread the news.
One of the positives that has come out of this so far was getting to talk to my niece, Tessi. The last time I saw her, she was pregnant and I totally inundated her with information! She was already on her way to planning a natural birth and all sorts of other cool stuff, so I had to make sure she was tanked up with resources haha. I had gotten a little secondhand news of her, but this was the first time I had talked to her in ages. It turns out she is in the process of applying to be a La Leche League leader! And she said she has gotten really involved with her local Attachment Parenting group and the homeschooling community. Yay! A soul sister in my family.
I got over to the dollar store to buy Orion several things in the afternoon. I don't know why I shop there since the stuff is so cheap and breaks so easily, but at least I was able to get a bunch of stuff.
We saw these foam swords and shields just as we were leaving and had to add them to the lot.
Josh occupying Orion for ages. TGFJ
Another positive so far has been getting to spend time with Sarah. And she has been so amazingly helpful. She has come in and checked the dishwasher and cleaned up the kitchen both days. And they are really helpful with Orion and wanting to do things to help me rest. They even are saying they want to come make dinner on Wednesday.
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