I've been back home in Denver for just over a week.
I stayed with Mom for about 10 days after Dad died. We had the memorial service one full week after his death, which allowed folks to make plans to attend. As he was cremated, and the ashes were not present at the service, we had more flexibility with time. In September I will return to SC, and we will kayak his ashes out to his favorite spot on his river- they even make biodegradable urns for just such occasions.
The service was perfect. The chaplain from Hospice opened with a brief prayer, and then everyone shared stories and memories about Dad. The chaplain also gave a brief sermon/eulogy, and then we viewed an amazing dvd slide show created by my uncle. I have had no luck uploading it to YouTube, so, I can't share. But it was great. Then Dad's friend Jim played Amazing Grace, and we all shared a meal- fresh fried fish, of course!
Some of you may know about Dad's backyard gator- there house backs up to a small lake, and over the nearly 6 years they have lived there, there have been a succession of alligators sharing the lake with them. Dad truly loved his gators- watching them in the lake was one of his pleasures. The last night Dad was really with us, the gator acted very strangely and swum over to the bank by Dad's window, and sat staring into the house for a very very long time. He's never done that before. The memorial service was held at the Outfitters Center where my folks live- the nature center- because the river and Lowcountry in general was Dad's true church. The Outfitters is right on another lake, and we realized that an alligator observed the entire service and hung out until we were done with the meal. We are quite certain that he came to pay his respects as well.
The Hospice staff told us they had many, many stories of animals reacting to people's deaths- dogs, cats, birds and more- but Dad's was their first gator. I know somewhere, that made him smile.
Now I am home. It's been a week. I have a tiny bit of the mess under control. My desk at work is still pretty awful. But my co-workers have been amazing- I am not a huggy person by nature but I have had some of the best hugs of my life in the last 6 days. I'm settling back into being a mom and an employee, instead of just being a daughter. What I really need is a good cry, but the breakdown has yet to materialize. I'm still in shock, I think.
Thank you all for the comments, emails, prayers, love, and everything else. I haven''t responded to many commens or emails- but I will eventually get to everyone. Meanwhile, know I am thankful to each and every one of you.


































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