I've not spit out a coherent sentence, that didn't involve my voice cracking like a 13 year old boy going through puberty, in at least two weeks. Puberty. It's fine. Everyone goes through it at some point.
Where to start......
I got to meet Norene, which is Darrel's first wife. I had always heard of her, but hadn't actually met her. I was 3 when they split, and since I've repressed my childhood I have no memory of her. However, I have always heard good things about her. It was great to meet her. We carried on a 20 minute conversation like we had known each other for years, and she called me adorable like 3 times in midst of it. I mean what's not to like? We got to talking about my Aunt Sandy and how she brags on me, and I said "Well, she is kind of my favorite." To which she sayed something like, "If I were still around, I would be your favorite too." I knew I liked her at that moment. The next day she told me that I might be her new favorite. This woman has a good judge of character. ;)
I did the video for the funeral. Due to technical difficulties with Loraine(my laptop), I didn't get the video done until 3am Thursday morning. By that time I was an emotional mess, so I decided that instead of going to bed I would go a head and take my shower. As soon as I was about to fall asleep, my father began snoring. So sleep did not happen Wednesday, which did not make Thursday any easier.
The kids(Darrel, Sandy, Dennis) did the eulogy for Pappaw. Talk about an emotional mess. They all did really well. I was really proud of my dad. He shared some very wise words. He said, "I'd like to say that this man was a great man, but this man is not the man I knew. This is just his body. The man I know has gone on to a better place. And he may not be able to fix our broken hearts today, but we can help each other by showing each other love and respect." My father is not perfect, but he is a good man.
The funeral was very much a tribute it Pappaw's life. He loved others not only with his words, but with his actions. He was a good man.
You'll remember I told you he was a huge Johnny Cash fan. Probably the biggest Johnny fan you'd come across. His casket, is the same make and model of Johnny Cash's. My cousin, Nick, said, "He always had to have the last laugh."
He also has a single Christmas light tucked in his pocket. :)
Friday night was the only night that I think I got angry. The man who spoke, spoke about science stuff that was really hard to follow. Then, he brought a man on stage to talk about his twins. When they were born they had brain damage. They showed the scans to show us how much of their brains were affected. Then the guy talked about how many prayers had gone up that these two little girls would be healed. Then he showed the scans from a week later. The scans were completely clean. The speaker gave the kids the impression that if you pray for God to take the bad thing away, he will. Really?!? Because as far as I know, Joe Day is dead. How many prayers went up that the cancer would be taken away? Hundreds? Thousands? When I say the man was a big deal, I'm not exaggerating. His story was in the news, the Internet, the radio, it was even in Reader's Digest.
God does what is best. What is best, is not always what we want. Perhaps that speaker should have explained that. What happens when these kids pray for something to happen, and they don't get the answer they want? What will that do to their walk?
Let me get off my soap box now.
Friday, I did get to have some time alone with CallieAnn, which was much needed. She helped shed some wisdom on life. I love her for many reasons.
I had a great time with the girls in my room. I had Brenna, Evie, Maggie, and Alayna. I will argue to say that I had the most interesting room. These girls are all different from one another, but they get along so well. Poor Brenna. I'm not sure she knew what to do with all of us. Haha, but she fit in well. I was able to share my story with them, and we got to have some really great bonding time. I'd have to say the time I got with my girls was the best part of the trip.
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