Women Who Behave

We got here (to my Grandma's huse) just in time to help come up with the program for the service. I guess they need to bring a biography and program plan over to the home tomorrow morning, so my mom and her brothers and her mom are in the other room trying to decide what exactly we're going to do.

I can just remember Granddaddy's funeral, back in the summer before 8th grade. I read a Robert Service poem, as he is both of our favorite poets, and we both had a thing for "The Cremation of Sam McGee". Also, when I walked into the kitchen with dishes from dinner, my dad and I looked at each other and started singing the chorus to "I'll Fly Away." A bunch of cousins, along with my dad and I sang that and "Amazing Grace" at Granddaddy's funeral because he was a pilot. What's funny is that even though I was closer to Bops and I have many many more memories of him (because Granddaddy had a stroke when I was pretty little and I really only have one memory of him from before it) I don't feel I have anything I can sing or play or say at the service on Monday. They don't want to make it overly religious (which I, ironically, could actually play along with really well), and they can't really think of anyone who would be able to speak at it, even among themselves.

All I can really think of is how even though I'm the third cousin, I'm the one who named him Bops. I wasn't able to say Grandpops when I was little, so it just came out as Bops, and it always stuck. I'm not sure that this is completely true - actually I just confirmed it and they all have decided that I have to speak now. It came about because one night when he and my grandma were babysitting, he went back to check on me, and I was alseep (as a baby) and so he went to creep out, but he stepped on a creaky part of the floor and little me, waking up upset, saw him sneaking out and screamed "BOPS!!!" as I couldn't pronounce what my two older cousins called him.

Damn, he was so hilarious, I can't believe he's really gone, and not just in the other room watching T.V. or taking his before-dinner nap. Time to finish that third glass of wine.

"I'll fly away, oh glory, I'll fly away. When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away..."

I can't remember if I have two or three days left, and whether I was supposed to be done yesterday or today.

It's been kinda crazy around here. We came up to Whistler in the window between snow storms. Got a tree, decorated it and the house in like two hours total, and haven't been able to access the internet from home until today.

So, Saturday it was fun coming up and being really cold and building up the fire and just being at the cabin for the first time since September. It was also kinda weird having it have less snow than down in Seattle.

Sunday we lazed about and did last minute Holiday shopping. My brother confessed that he'd gotten me lame gifts, so we picked out a hat and some kooky socks for him to give me, and I helped him pick out stuff for our parents. I'd gotten everyone cool movies from Amazon that had all arrived safe and sound before we came up here so I was just wandering around the village with my brother. Everything is way overpriced up here (yay ski resorts), but they have some really awesome stuff I'll have to keep an eye out for down in the cheaper suburbs.

A not-so-good note: Sunday we found out that early in the morning my uncle had put chains on his car and gone over to my grandparents' because my Grandpa wasn't doing very well. He and my Grandma eventually got him into the car and up into Portland to the hospital. They put him in the ICU later that morning and started pumping him with fluids. By the end of the day it looked like his kidneys were shutting down because he hadn't been passing fluid.

Monday my Dad, brother, and I went skiing while my Mom elected to stay home. We met up with my cousin, who was up with some school friends, and took a few runs with him before he had to head down to pack up because the bus was leaving early due to the bad road conditions between Whistler and Portland. Then when we went in for our second cocoa break/lunch we were spotted by our friend Ian. I saw him standing and waving first so I darted over and gave him a big hug. Graham arrived next, almost knocking over some poor woman carrying a very full bowl of soup. His brother- and sister-in-law were eating with him, and they vaguely remembered us from last year. We all talked for a bit before they decided they wanted to go spy on their kids who were in lessons, so they left us with Ian. Graham and Dad brought up the fact that I'd been eye-ing some of the ski suits that his company makes, and he promised to keep an eye out for what was left in the warehouse because they'd just send most of the last of them off to TJ Maxx. So that's exciting. Hopefully I will soon have a graph-paper design on a ski suit. After skiing, we dropped Ian off at his house, went and picked up Mom, changed and headed back up to the village. We headed to Merlins, where Doug was performing, and Greg, Ian and Aaron (Ian's brother-in-law) joined us for a bit. Ian and Aaron had to deliver dinner to the rest of the family back home, so the rest of us decided where we wanted to go for dinner before Greg's show later that night and let them know. We decided on Kypriaki, our favorite Greek restaurant. It was delicious, as usual. Kike made paella for us, and surprised us by bringing out some of the moose that Greg had dropped off as a present for him to cure. It was delicious. There was expensive wine had (as usual), and good talk and lots of laughter. After dinner, my dad and I took my mom and brother home, then decided we were too tired to head back into the village for Greg's Whole Lotta Led show and just went to sleep instead.

On the Grandpa front: It looked like he was doing better, as they'd moved him out of the ICU after he started passing fluids and generally took a turn towards recovery. Around 11AM they gave him some painkillers to help him feel a bit better, and he'd gone to sleep for some well needed rest. My mom talked to my Grandma around 3pm and she was feeling great. However, just before dinner started my mom called back and was upset because it turns out that he hadn't woken since 11AM, and everyone was getting a little worried. This morning we learned that he passed around 10:30 last night. There's supposed to be another storm coming through the Portland/Seattle/Vancouver area tomorrow, so we're kinda worried that we won't be able to get home even to Kenmore tomorrow. We're going to try though, because we want to get down to Portland ASAP even though there won't be a ceremony until probably Monday or Tuesday. My mom wants to be with her mom and her brothers.

Today we stayed home, decided to do Christmas early so we'd be free to get down to Portland, so did that right after dinner. After present opening, we watched half on Season One of Weeds, which my mom had gotten for me after seeing all my Facebook status updates about how obsessed we were getting with the show. She's been wanting to watch it too, so this gave her an excuse. Kinda like the reasons I got my dad the Rolling Stones movie from last year directed by Marty Scorsese.

Tomorrow is maybe skiing, and heading home.