Putting the Fun back in Funeral

My paternal Grandfather passed away last Thursday, peacefully (well, I imagine a morphine drip is peaceful), surrounded by his children. He had lived independently until a few days before his death and had reached the excellent age of 90. Even though he has been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember, I didn't really know him; he was always so quiet, or out gardening. I wish I had asked him more about his life, especially about his immigration to Canada from Ukraine.

Jesse and I packed the kids in the car and drove to Toronto to attend the funeral. I hope this doesn't sound too morbid, but we had a nice time. We even got a little giddy about our 'funeral date night' when my Mom looked after both kids for the evening wake (yes, it's been a while since we've been out alone together). The services and gatherings were really nice, but it was the bonus time with family we don't get to see very often that made it so fun.

We took both kids to the service the morning after the wake, and I was obsessing over what to say to Violet about the body in the casket. As it turned out, I had to hand her over to Aunt Nina while Jem was fussing, so I missed the moment. Violet didn't seem phased whatsoever by the body, but she did start to get a little noisy after a while.

Nina asked her to be quiet.

She asked "Why am I being quiet for?"

Nina said "For Jesus"

Violet pointed to her Great-Grandfather in the casket and asked "Is that Jesus?!"

I could only see from the back that people were doing their best to keep a straight face. At the lunch after the service, Violet managed to get three different people to give her a slice of cake. She then ran around the hall for an hour shrieking "I'm ping-pong running!".

Jesse and Violet headed back to Ottawa in the car on Monday, but I decided to stay with Jem and take the train back later. We all delayed flights and work to spend that extra time together, and I'm so glad we did. It was nice to just have one good natured baby to take care of (though I missed both UV and Jesse very much) and just hang out together.

Jem had a good time too- especially reading a magazine in his new hat with Uncle Max.