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Oct. 3rd, 2003 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
boodieWell I've just come back from Nannys funeral service, most of the rest of the family are heading off towards the Crematorium, I decided to come home for an hour or so and then head down to Nannys house for the family get together. I'm not overly fond of funerals and I'm really not fond of the crematorium especially.
Why is there always one person at a funeral who feels it is their god-given right to come around and make you feel even worse than you do already, one such person is my Mums cousin Beverly, she buttonholed me at Mums funeral and rambled on and on about terrible it was, and such a shame and how much I must miss her, and on and on with the gloom. I tried to escape her today, but she got me in the car, while I was waiting for the others to arrive and said almost exactly the same thing to me about Nan.
I managed to avoid her just before the service and afterwards, but she got to my Aunty Dawn, and my Sister and various other assorted rellies with the gloom and doom, thanks Bev, we were feeling pretty rotten anyway, you just made us feel worse.
Before the service the hatchies and I went in to say our last goodbyes to Nanny, she looked very peaceful, she was wearing her favourite dress and her wedding and engagement rings, I stroked her face, even though it was so cold, and thanked her for being the best Grandmother a girl could ever hope to have, and for the wonderful memories I had of my childhood, and for believing in me, even when I did something totally weird, like taking off for Brisbane, Nanny was the only one who told me to follow my heart.
The service itself was nice, lots of people there, mostly rellies, unfortunately most of Nannys friends have already passed on, they played Unforgettable by Nat King Cole, my cousin Peter did a reading, "What is a Grandmother" he managed to make it nearly all the way through before he broke up, then my Aunty Judy read a short personal eulogy, and we finished up with 'Fly' by Celine Dion, normally I cannot stand Ms Dion, but the song was very apt.
My Cousins, Peter, Charlie, Patrick, Grant, Bernard and my sister Christine, carried the coffin out to the car, and then came the awkward part, where people you don't remember come up to offer their condolences, and expect you to know who they are, when usually the only times you see them are at family funerals anyway.
I had to comfort both hatchies who were in a bad way, especially Dhanica who used to drop in and see Nanny sometimes in the afternoon, I told Chandra not to wear makeup as it runs when you cry, but she didn't listen and she had to repair to the toilet to remove the streaky tracks.
And now it's almost time to go to down to Nannys for one last time, to share memories of my Nan with my Aunts and cousins, and laugh and cry and most likely eat, its a thing we do well in our family, sad times, or happy times go along much better when there is tea in the pot, coffee in the cup and a plate of ham and tomato finger sandwiches and a few jam and cream cakes to help it along.
With memories comes tears and laughter, grief and happiness for the life of a wonderful woman, My Grandmother, the glue the held our family together.
****addendum
Just got back from Nannys, wall to wall rellies, a few tears, lots of laughing, and I was right, a table groaning with food, my cousin Charlie owns a wine importing business, so there was so much wine and liquor, I got to taste some very interesting stuff, some bright blue, rather unusual german wine, and a glass of some very expensive white semillion, and now, while not drunk, I am somewhat merry, 4 glasses of wine will do that to me.
My darling Nanny was still thinking of us, Nannys house is to be sold and the proceeds split up between the four daughters, however since Mum died, I always assumed that the proceeds would be split up between the three remaining Daughters, however Nanny put it in her will that Christine and I will get Mums share of the house proceeds.
It made me cry, thank you Nanny... I love you so much.
Why is there always one person at a funeral who feels it is their god-given right to come around and make you feel even worse than you do already, one such person is my Mums cousin Beverly, she buttonholed me at Mums funeral and rambled on and on about terrible it was, and such a shame and how much I must miss her, and on and on with the gloom. I tried to escape her today, but she got me in the car, while I was waiting for the others to arrive and said almost exactly the same thing to me about Nan.
I managed to avoid her just before the service and afterwards, but she got to my Aunty Dawn, and my Sister and various other assorted rellies with the gloom and doom, thanks Bev, we were feeling pretty rotten anyway, you just made us feel worse.
Before the service the hatchies and I went in to say our last goodbyes to Nanny, she looked very peaceful, she was wearing her favourite dress and her wedding and engagement rings, I stroked her face, even though it was so cold, and thanked her for being the best Grandmother a girl could ever hope to have, and for the wonderful memories I had of my childhood, and for believing in me, even when I did something totally weird, like taking off for Brisbane, Nanny was the only one who told me to follow my heart.
The service itself was nice, lots of people there, mostly rellies, unfortunately most of Nannys friends have already passed on, they played Unforgettable by Nat King Cole, my cousin Peter did a reading, "What is a Grandmother" he managed to make it nearly all the way through before he broke up, then my Aunty Judy read a short personal eulogy, and we finished up with 'Fly' by Celine Dion, normally I cannot stand Ms Dion, but the song was very apt.
My Cousins, Peter, Charlie, Patrick, Grant, Bernard and my sister Christine, carried the coffin out to the car, and then came the awkward part, where people you don't remember come up to offer their condolences, and expect you to know who they are, when usually the only times you see them are at family funerals anyway.
I had to comfort both hatchies who were in a bad way, especially Dhanica who used to drop in and see Nanny sometimes in the afternoon, I told Chandra not to wear makeup as it runs when you cry, but she didn't listen and she had to repair to the toilet to remove the streaky tracks.
And now it's almost time to go to down to Nannys for one last time, to share memories of my Nan with my Aunts and cousins, and laugh and cry and most likely eat, its a thing we do well in our family, sad times, or happy times go along much better when there is tea in the pot, coffee in the cup and a plate of ham and tomato finger sandwiches and a few jam and cream cakes to help it along.
With memories comes tears and laughter, grief and happiness for the life of a wonderful woman, My Grandmother, the glue the held our family together.
****addendum
Just got back from Nannys, wall to wall rellies, a few tears, lots of laughing, and I was right, a table groaning with food, my cousin Charlie owns a wine importing business, so there was so much wine and liquor, I got to taste some very interesting stuff, some bright blue, rather unusual german wine, and a glass of some very expensive white semillion, and now, while not drunk, I am somewhat merry, 4 glasses of wine will do that to me.
My darling Nanny was still thinking of us, Nannys house is to be sold and the proceeds split up between the four daughters, however since Mum died, I always assumed that the proceeds would be split up between the three remaining Daughters, however Nanny put it in her will that Christine and I will get Mums share of the house proceeds.
It made me cry, thank you Nanny... I love you so much.
