a long day...

Well today was a LONG day.
We headed out of town late morning for Eddie's funeral.
The family dinner was scheduled for noon, with the funeral at 2 PM.
I didn't anticipate how sad the funeral would be...
The lunch was nice. The menu was baked ham, corn, baked beans, potato salad, salad, multi-grained rolls, and various desserts.
You never really feel like eating at those dinners, but somehow shove the food in to fill the void of conversation. If that makes sense.
I could hear laughter and conversations, I saw friends and relatives embracing and realized I haven't seen many of these people since the last funeral in Blanchard.
Eddie's daughter and son seemed like they were handling it all pretty well.
The funeral itself was very very sad. I cried a bucket of tears. Matt did too.
I still have a cry headache.
Those video montages always get me, it's like watching someone's life literally flash before your eyes.
I felt so sad for Evva, Eddie's daughter. She is a sweet girl and loved her daddy so much. Bryce, Eddie's son, spoke. I was amazed at how composed he was, how he had the entire congregation laughing and then how he pulled it all together and prayed. It was touching.
I've never seen so many flowers at a funeral. It was incredible. I sat and counted but lost track at 50 arrangements. He was loved.
We viewed his body. He looked 80, and was only 54. He had so much life in him, without it he was just a shell. I guess that's always the case, just seemed more pronounced in Eddie.
It was a beautiful day. Perfect weather. We went to the cemetery and gave last hugs to the family. His sister Betty whispered in my ear as I hugged her, "I pray for your family every single night." She was having a very hard time, she was the older sister by 18 years and was almost like another mother for Eddie.
We visited both of Matt's grandmother's graves while we were there, they have both died in the last year, then drove by Marmar's old house. Lots of memories there.