All Done

Carole's memorial service went pretty well. There were lots of family and friends who showed up at the funeral home to pay their respects. Sarah and Alison did a very good job with their readings. Sarah read the story of creation from Genesis, day three and Alison got to read the Gospel. Ali was nervous but I thought she did a very good job and I think that grandma would have been very proud of both of them.

I think we made a good decision by just having a service at the funeral home and not having a funeral mass at church. When her dad got there he was not handling things very well, but then once people starting arriving and talking to him, I think it helped keep his mind occupied. But both Kris and I don't think that he would have done very well with a big funeral in church or having a ceremony out at the cemetery.

Afterward we had a small buffet style lunch which got used up pretty fast. Thanks to Nino's Italian Bakery for providing some great food. We got a special dispensation from the priest who presided over the service so we could eat meat (someone remarked that during the lunch he should have stood up and said "April Fool"). We went back to Kris's dad's house afterward to just sit and visit with some family members and there was a little uncomfortableness associated with it. Ask Kris or me privately if you want details. I'll just say it was awkward.

All in all, I think Kris did a wonderful job putting things together for this and the service provided by the Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home was top notch. Thank you to all our friends and family who have provided their condolences and support in this difficult time. Let's just hope we don't have to do anything like this again anytime soon. The stress is just not good.