Latisha immediately went to work. She agreed to play the piano. Her mom offered to prepare a lunch for the family after the services. Her little sister was willing to sing a special musical number with both Latisha and her mom of "In the Garden", a hymn Mom always loved.
On Friday we went and prepared the Relief Society Room for the services. I arranged photographs of Mom with the boys, her and dad and her siblings. We then went and made sure the flower arrangement was what I wanted. It was huge! It was perfect. Mom would have known every single flower used. There were three irises, one representing each one of her boys.
We met Cory, Darci, Greg and the cousins in Asheville, North Carolina. That would be our base while we were there. Mom grew up in Asheville and wanted her remains spread in the mountains. She loved the mountains.
Saturday was an emotional day. Everything was perfect, well almost everything. I almost choked the florist when I arrived to find she had taken the table cloth off of the table and moved all of the pictures to accommodate her arrangement. She even had the audacity to remove one picture entirely. Beautiful arrangement, such talent, but no couth.
Family and friends joined with us to celebrate Mom's life. Many of Mom's friends and family came to pay their respects. Aunt Susie and Uncle Ernest were there with her daughter Amy and her family. Aunt Barbara came with Stephen and Jennifer. So did Douglas and Phillip with his children. Sarah Margaret and friends from Asheville all filled the church. They were all here because Mom had made a difference in their lives.
The lunch Latisha's mother prepared was so nice and delicious. Everything was homemade. Mom would have loved it. I cannot express the gratitude I feel in my heart for Latisha (and her family). Although a friend, she is more like a sister to me. I've often told her that I have been truly blessed with some dear friends in this life, but there is only ONE Latisha!
It snowed on Sunday. I told the children Saturday night when it began to snow that it was a gift from Grandmama. A few years ago when she joined my family in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for Thanksgiving she wanted the girls to see snow so badly. It didn't snow then, but I have no doubt she was looking down and enjoying every minute of our snow ball fight!
Cousins, brothers, and sisters playing in the snow. Jamilyn built a snow man and both she and Kaitlyn made snow angels, that is until they were ambushed by Sean with snowballs. Savannah ate snow and tootled around like the little boy from "A Christmas Story". Mom would have loved it.
After freezing to death we headed back down the mountains for some hot chocolate, compliments of the hotel. A nap for me and more fun for the cousins.
We headed home on Monday and had to say our good-byes. It was harder than I expected. I loved spending time with my niece and nephew. They are adorable. The cousins although separated by miles and years since having seen each other picked up right where they left off. I enjoyed seeing Sean and Jami's personalities come to life and it broke my heart because I know Mom would have loved it!
1 comment:
Hadn't seen this post before. It was our pleasure to be a part of such a wonderful celebration of life!
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