Saying Goodbye

It wasn't easy to say goodbye, far more difficult than I anticipated. She was pretty amazing, the way she loved all of us. We are a diverse group, to say the least and she found qualities in each one of us she adored and bragged about to the others. She always had the latest news about each of our families and made sure we all knew how much she enjoyed us.

My cousin A.J spoke at the funeral. He said looking at the photos around the room made him wish we could all go back to one of the happy days of our childhood when life was simple. The days of cousins running around the farm, enjoying a little too much freedom and each other. Jeremy, Joel, A.J, Theresa, Mike and I were all around the same age and always looked forward to those visits. He remembered sitting around Grandma's table during one of those days and noting tears in Grandma's eyes as she looked around at all the chaos our gatherings created. Looking back, he realized they were tears of joy. She loved her family. 

We lost Jeremy ten years ago. I am sure they are still sipping coffee and catching up in heaven. That reunion had to be one of the sweetest. And Grandpa, he's probably sitting back with a grin on his face as he takes it all in. He adored her. I miss them all. Like A.J, I wish we could have one more carefree day of childhood to really appreciate the simplicity of those days. One more day to hang on a little longer to a hug or listen to another story. Saying goodbye was not easy even though I know she was ready for the reunion in heaven.