Dad's funeral

We first met in New Jersey at Dad and Terri's house on Indiancreek Rd. Daniel, Rachel and I came into the house straight from the airport, having been up for 24 hours. The house was full of people, quietly eating. And there were my loved ones--my brothers, my sister,my sister-in-law, my nephews. At first I didn't recognize any of them. The brothers and nephews all in suits and ties. Each one of them looked unbelievably beautiful to me. Later, Alan arrived from Seattle. All of us together at the Best Western in Hazlet, New Jersey.


The funeral service in the light filled church was comforting. Now I can't remember exactly what the priest said--just a feeling of gentleness.
That night, we all went out to eat at what had once been a quiet Inn. Only now it was Big Ed's Barbecue. We were very obviously in New Jersey.
Dad was buried at Brigadier General Somebody's Veterans' Cemetary--45 minutes away--a long drive where we struggled to stay together in our funeral procession. I guess Dad knew about that ceremony--the flag being taken off his coffin, painstakingly folded and handed to his widow with salutes.

In the picture above, I think we all look like we are smiling bravely. This is hard.

So much about these 3 days was so hard. But we have each other. So much love.