Thursday, March 24, 2005

Well, we’re back...

…just the three of us, no baby yet and didn’t sell Grace to any gypsies during our adventures.

We made the two hour drive back to the suburbs of Chicago for Grandpa’s funeral. Despite forgetting the beloved Cashew (teddy bear who goes EVERYWHERE with us) at home Grace made the car ride with little fussing. She would yell, “Da da!!” as loud as she could, to which Papa Duck would volley back, “Grace!!!!” It was a fun game, but probably better witnessed by those wearing earplugs.

The wake was Tuesday night which Grace thought was a blast, tons of people to carry her around and say how cute she was. At one point she made a dash for all the guests’ purses sitting on one of the couches, she’s my girl...natural attraction to purses and shoes! And then got wind of the beautiful floral arrangements, it was at this point that Papa Duck decided to bring her downstairs where she could run around and the damage would be fairly minimal.

That night at about 1:30 upon returning from a bathroom run Papa Duck was greeted by a Pootie sucking, arm waving 16 month old who, by the looks of it, was done sleeping. We tried to put her in bed with us, but as we typically don’t practice co-sleeping, she pretty much interpreted this as party time. Finally after two hours of lots of activities, none of which included sleeping, Papa Duck and Grace headed to the basement to sleep and I, all too willingly, sprawled out in the bed alone.

The church service wasn’t much more successful than the wake. The priest said an opening prayer and then Papa Duck had to go do the first reading. Grace spazzed (have I mentioned she’s Daddy’s Little Girl?!!?) and had her arms jabbing my face (picture the Heisman Trophy…) as we tried to make a quick, unnoticeable exit. Yup, nine months pregnant holding a hollering, flailing child…not much of a spectacle there. After a few more times of attempting to re-enter the service, we asked Grace if she wanted to take a nap, to which she responded by clapping her hands enthusiastically. Mommy and Grace headed home for a nice nappy-poo.

While Grandpa is in a much better place than the limbo he lived in with Alheimer’s, I think the saddest sight for me was watching Grandma view him for the final time prior to the closing of the casket. Even though Grandpa had not mentally been himself for awhile, there still had to be some comfort in holding his hand, touching his face and kissing his lips. I can’t imagine saying a final farewell to the love of your life. The permanence had to be heart-breaking.
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I also wanted to say a thank you again for all of the kind words that people have left about Miss Lucky. I truly thought the hardest parts would be making the decision to euthanize her and watch her slip away, but as it turns out, it’s the loneliness that I feel when I see a big, open space at the top of our stairs where she used to greet us for treats and meals. I know I said I would never get another bunny again, but already I’m thinking…someday it would be nice. As such Papa Duck is assisting me in finding a good mental health professional.