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Visitation

What a hectic day! Since I hadnt' cleaned the night before, there was a TON to do since I knew the house was going to be deluged w/ppl. I asked DH to help me and we got clean towels, emptied all the trash cans, vacuumed, sort the recycling, etc, etc. Unfortunately, there was no time for ME to get ready for church so they all went and I wound up doing more cleaning. I knew it was going to be hte only time I'd have between then and now to get it done and there would be over a hundred ppl on Monday after the service. Plus it gave me a few minutes of peace and quiet, that were very precious to me. After the mass, Fr took Mat up to the lecturn and showed him the footstoola nd where to stand and had him speak into the microphone since Mat was going to be a reader. We also had to ask Fr since we didn't know that they only let 18+yo serve as speakers. Fr said it was fine.

nonpgSIL went to a different time service and she was there and got started finishign up the remaining picture  boards. DH had sorted them by MIL, MIL & FIL, MIL & friends, MIL and gchildren, etc, etc so SIL just had to stick them on. They were having a hard time making them stick tho.:( They got it worked out when DH called and SIL had him get double sided tape. They weren't all our pics and we needed to return some. DH frantically went to work on getting the DVD burnt. His sisters use Macs and he uses a PC and it was just kind of funny to listen to them talk about it all.

My parents had come out early and Dh asked that everyone  but his 2 sisters go out to eat for lunch. I don't know what he wanted to do, but he knew they'd get all those pics done alot faster w/o us in their hair. So we had a nice brunch out and then back to the house.

However since the pictures took much longer than expected (as does everything), everyone else needed to leave to get ready for the viewing and that left Dh adn I to run in ALL the stuff and set up the funeral home. We got there and started setting up. I had wanted to find a few minutes to go see MIL ALONE and knew this would be my opportunity and was trying to figure out how to make it work. I was super engrossed in helping Dh set up t he bridge table and 2 ladies came over and said they needed me. They each grabbed and elbow and sudderly I realized that I was in the room w/the casket and I was heading straight for it!!!!!!!!!!!! I had only been in that funeral home one other time, many years ago. It's a very small home and it was PACKED and there weren't even ppl in it yet! But they wanted me to see how she looked. I had heard that 'Shirley' was doing her hair and that it would be good. IT WAS NOT! No fault of Shirley's mind you, but the cancer had ravaged her body so much, but it took a big toll on her. She'd always had thick, short, unruly tresses and what I saw was about as opposite of that as you could imagine! They were pulling me by both elbows to the casket and I wasn't coming up w/a reason to bolt and was trying to get DH cuz I didn't know how to politely tell this lady (who is a family friend) that this was NOT going to suffice! Finally I got my head cranked around enuf to see Dh, who came over and asked them to try the wig. (I had no knowledge of a wig!) He also told them to MESS UP HER HAIR! They worked on her hair some more while we finished trying ot find spots for everything--we had so many pics (not just picture boards), her paintings (first one!) and the brigde table. I don't remember what else. I made lots of lists!ROTFL! But they called us back ove rand it looked MUCH better.

So we rush back to the house to get us and the boys ready and made it to the funeral home on time. It was naturally horrible and I was further mortified when I looked up and saw my PARENTS in the funeral home and walked over and aske dthem to leave. My mom proceded to give me grief about not telling her hte right time. I told her that I DID tell her hte right time--4 o'clock CENTRAL time--NOT EASTERN! So they left!LOL Ppl started pouring in about 3:45 and the next few hours are a blur. I left the line a few times to go check on Joey since my mom did NOT stay! UGH! He's not a bad boy, but he's jsut too young to be left unsupervised for long periods of time. My sister made it thru the line and said that she saw a picture board going tumbling to the ground and BIL caught it and the easel and she was thinking, who's kid is THIS? Joey! One of SIL's friends came thru (mid-40s) and said that Joey had goosed her (he doesn't know what that is so I"m n ot sure what exactly he did) and I apologized and she said that at her age, it was the biggest thrill she got anymore!LOL I left once to check on him to hear a chorus of cousins yelling that Joey was in the bathroom pooping w/the door open............. Did I mention that I coudlnt' see cuz of my contacts,  adn between that and the weatheer front I had a poudning heacache? I had gotten the advil out and left them on the bed! (Dh got his taken) Then I suddenly got super hot (Dh adn I managed to be right next to the casket under those spot lights) and a cousin came around w/a stool and I had DH get it. My jacket came off and I was desperately trying not to throw up. I was very grateful that I really didn't know anyone and could just smile, shake hands and mumble 'thank  you'. The hugging ppl were harder cuz I had to move........ I sent my oldest nephew off for tylenol and he returned promptly so I could down that and I did eventually cool down enuf to tamper the nausea.

We knew the line was bad. Most ppl were saying that it was 1.5 hour wait and it had rained, 100 degrees and obviously horrible humidity. We were very grateful for those who perservered that and very understanding of those who called or stopped by later (at the house) to give their condolences, but that their elderly parent or infant couldnt' handle standing outside in the weather for that amount of time.

The amount of flowers and gifts were enormous. There wasn't room for everything in the main room and it was lined all up and down the hall where ppl were waiting. It worked since all those picture boards and paintings were out there.

It was very difficult getting FIL away from the casket that night. They don't have 'breaks' in visitation times so once you are there, you are up there until the ppl stop coming. It was so overwhelming.

I was very glad that I had cleaned in the morning cuz I was very worthless after that very, very long day.