I want to thank the members of the community and my friends locally who have checked in on me as I am dealing with grandma’s passing.
I was away from Mount Vernon most of the holiday weekend, as many different cousins and family members would slowly wind in and give chance to reminisce on that matriarch we all adored.
A lot of miles were driven on my car Friday, June 30, through Thursday, July 6, as there were round trips from Tipton, Coralville, Iowa City and the Amana Colonies and back to Mount Vernon to meet each group.
The thing I really liked this past week, aside from the family time, was being able to visit some locations that I might have wanted to, but just have not.
Last Friday was a trip to Whig and Pen pizza in Iowa City to spend time with family. I made it back to the Bijou that evening just in time for the screening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (okay. I was roughly five minutes late. But the staff let me know they were just starting the previews and where I should find a seat as disruption free to those who arrived on time).
Sunday we spent a good portion of the day looking at some of the small shops in downtown Amana, as out of state people wanted to see the candy, rock and soap shops while we were there after lunch. And I found two soaps I’m loving for me and had some delicious fudge.
Tuesday was grilling out in Tipton and time with cousins, as well as attending the fireworks show in the evening with mom.
Wednesday was the visitation, and after being social butterflies with cousins and other family, a cohort of cousins all determined they were craving HuHot Mongolian Grill. So, another trek through Interstate 80’s road construction, and I was with them as we entered and figured out how to select proteins, vegetables, noodles and sauces/flavor profiles I was looking for.
Thursday was probably the hardest of the days, as it was the actual funeral, but my sister Andrea had a great speech that only improved after some suggested edits and her own tweaks Thursday morning. She was having a hard time finding the ending, and if there’s one thing this speech judge is able to help anyone do, it’s find a way to end a speech that will be a hard act to follow.
I know I mentioned the minor inconveniences of the passing and sending the newspaper out last week, but truly the time with family was needed.