Last things

Larry, who is perfect at what he does,
lowers Mom's remains at Forest Hills Cemetery.
We sent her off with treats.

We buried Mom Saturday morning, January 12, before the memorial service, where she will lie next to Dad, who was buried in 2013. It was difficult, Mom so warm in memory, and the ground so cold. We sang hymns, said what we wanted to say, and threw in dirt by hand or shovel.

Living day-to-day, you rarely get the long view, but you get it at a burial.

I wrestle with my feelings about Mom, and I hope that's OK. A mom is a complicated thing, I am a complicated thing, our relationship was a complicated thing, and conflicted emotions are probably inevitable. But she did pretty darn well, and I am bereft as I write this. I can hardly see the screen.

So many people came for the funeral, some of them from hundreds of miles away, and it was heartwarming to see them. I hope, between us, we at least said hello to everyone, but if you were there and we missed you, Hi! Thanks for coming!

*

Just a Little Bit Cranky will continue, for better or worse.

Chris, Charles, Kaia, Jon, Kari, Madeline, Julie, Lydie, Solveig, Siri, Jonathan

In her element

Mom at her peak. You can see that she's smiling.
Lydie, already a multi-tasker, is eating and maybe even singing
as she gets a new diaper.

Just a reminder we're having a service for Mary O Saturday, Jan. 13 at Zion Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, starting at 2 p.m. Refreshments and conversation to follow!

We're in the middle of a blast of arctic air here. I walked on the lakefront yesterday and froze my face.

The Calatrava in midwinter.