Tears and Laughter

Today was a long and slightly weird day. It was a good day, it was a very emotional day, it was everything it should have been.

Today we said out final goodbyes to Grandma's mortal remains at the Crematoriam at 10am, and then lunch at church at 12, Service of Celebration at 2.30, then tea and cake afterwards.

The Crem bit was fine, we were there in plenty of time, and it was just family. Mum and Dad, Shelia and Francis, Andrew and Christopher (their two boys) Ru and Fran and the lovely niece and nephew, Hannah and Alan (who get married on Friday - whole nother set of blogs there) and us. And Mr Ralph and Nelson who are family. Not family friends, family.

We walked the coffin in, and the undertaker Emma, dressed in whole Victorian undertaker get up had her lads place Grandma on the plinth thing, and there was a hymn, and a reading, and it was lovely. I cried, Rich held my hand, and it was fine.

We chatted for a bit afterwards, then headed back to the house, got changed, packed up the bike pannier and zipped over to mum and dad's for lunch at the church and then the service.

The service was amazing.

My uncle read about what his mother in law, my grandmother was like, what her life had been like. We sang 4 hymns in big voices, as a true Methodist should, we prayed, we listened, we sang some more. Sometimes tears escaped me, sometimes they didn't.

And then the minister announced that we would sing Taps, as my grandmother was a Brownie, Guide, Trefoil member. It was shattering. We sung it properly, we sung it loudly, we sung it to give grace and praise and joy back to an old lady who had done so much for everyone else.

I'll ask mum for the words and put them on here. It rocked.

There's more to say, but I can't right now.