Well, I’m blogging from the car somewhere between Dallas and Monroe, LA…. don’t you love Ecto? Anyway, I’m headed to Monroe to celebrate the life of my Mamaw.
On Tuesday morning I got a call that her condition had taken a turn for the worse over the weekend. I say a turn for the worse but really, it was just time. Mamaw hasn’t been good for awhile. In 2004, dementia had set in and we moved her into an assisted living facility. In 2006, I visited her there with my 9 month old SB and she had no idea who I was. She cried because she couldn’t remember and I cried because I knew she wouldn’t ever. This is when the grieving process began. You know, I think we mourn people as they begin to move away.
In 2008 EP, SB and I went to Monroe because I wanted SB to ‘meet’ his great grandmother. I was kinda shocked at the condition I found her in. Wheelchair bound, hardly able to speak or open her eyes…it was then that I prayed she go home soon. I know that sounds bad, but you don’t want to see family suffer. And not that she was suffering per se…just what kind of life is that??? That was 2 years ago.
So, needless to say, when I got the call Tuesday, I wasn’t shocked. But then began the waiting game. Every phone call or text the next three days I would wonder, is this it?? Thankfully, it didn’t take long. She peacefully went Home yesterday with my Aunt by her side.
I think this is one of those funerals where its a celebration and full of family memories. I’m looking so forward to sitting around with my cousins sharing fun stories and memories and laughing our silly heads off….because that’s what we do. We laugh. 
After much deliberation, my family stayed home and I came with my parents and sister. I’m so happy that I did. This trip is usually about 4.5 hours but today its been almost SIX!!! There was traffic all around DFW so it took us almost an hour and a half to get to Forney! We hit rush hour in Shreveport, which wasn’t terrible. But THEN – somewhere near Grambling, we assume, a huge accident occurred and we had a 45 min (at least) detour off the interstate.
The original plan was that my family was going to follow my parents. The entire time we went through the traffic/rerouting/etc I kept thinking praise the Lord they didn’t come. If I had any doubts about the decision it was all cleared up.
Let me tell you how neat it is to be making this trek one more time with just the people who I made it with hundreds of times as a child. We have had more laughs….over the strangest things…its been wonderful. We even ran into a cousin in a rest stop bathroom in Tyler!! Talk about laughs. And although we are here for a usually sad occasion, I know these memories will last forever.
