Funeral Arangements-

My husband's father passed away last Thursday and he has been working with his other siblings to plan the funeral. There's quite a lot to be done, between the things that need to take place in Tx (where he died) and Oh (where the funeral and burial will be) while we live in Mo. (lots of phone work) His mother passed away in January, so this is a second family tragedy in a short time.

Meanwhile, I am planning the logistics of our family of 5 being ready to make the trip. We did not all attend the funeral in January, so we will be traveling now as both parents' ashes are buried. It's a two day drive there and back for us and we'll just have to be missing some school .We'll have to see if a neighbor will drop in and check on the cats. We'll need to buy some feeder fish for the turtle and a time release tablet for the fish. I have put suits in the dry cleaners and will be doing hair cuts and shopping for us girls. All the small details that aren't important but must be done.

I'm not sure how I feel about my father-in-law passing. Sad, of course, but he's been ill for some time and we knew it was coming. Having time to prepare yourself for losing someone makes a difference. So, sad, tinged with acceptance that it really was his time to go.

This passing makes us parent-less and our children grand-parent-less. There's no one that holds the greater store of wisdom that comes from age and experience for us any longer. No one to ask how something should be done, nor is there anyone left to try to make proud. Except ourselves.

No, now we must consider ourselves finished adults and be our own experts. There's a moment of panic from that thought, and then we realize we are capable because our parents made sure we would be. They are proud of us and we are proud of them.