Sad News

Well, I'm in my 40's and I'm down to a single grandparent. Tragedy? Well for me. Most of my friends have lost their grandparents some time ago, many never even knew them.

My father's mother passed away Tuesday after supper.  From tough farming stock, and immigrating to Canada in 1957 as a refugee of the Hungarian Revolution, my father brought his sister and mother to start anew.

As of late, she hadn't been well, and around Christmas 2010 she had been bounced in and out of hospital/emergency wards by the Alberta Health Services following impossible and ridiculous policy for almost 5 weeks.  It was another number of weeks before a placement was found for her in a long-term care facility. But as of late, she was gaining weight, eating well, and overall her health was stable if not improving a bit.

I being not a religious person at all, (some would call me agnostic), but for her, a cornerstone and her community. I'll add an image she'd appreciate.

So, off my father goes to set the wheels in motion to get the funeral arranged. While it had been mostly arranged in advance by my grandmother, some parts you can't book in advance.  So…booking the funeral home.  Dead stop.  The funeral home has loaned out ALL their vehicles to another branch and that, is the end of that. "So have it at another funeral home", we tell my dad.  Nope. She wanted it HERE.  Good grief. This funeral home doesn't deserve to have her business.  Who loans out EVERY single car effectively closing up their business for 5 days?!?! While I don't need a chauffeur to get to the gravesite, we at least need a hearse! It's a HUGE inconvenience for anyone attending who could have traveled in the evening and on the weekend, now have to plan to be away from work and travel mid-week.  Thanks funeral home. I'll be sure to direct my business, and everyone else I speak to about it, elsewhere.

My nephew is a little disturbed as this is the last in a notable number of passings over the last few months. He's just becoming aware that there is a finality to existence.

I am very happy to see my other grandmother getting around, she too is made of tough stock. A War Bride, pioneer, conscripted farmer and prairie settler. I'm hoping her twilight years are long, pleasant, and fulfilling.