"A nice send-off," Grandma would say.

It's not my normal life to jump on an airplane mid-week and leave all responsibilities behind. It's not my normal life to jump on an airplane period. I can count on two hands the times I've sat in a chair that was above a cloud. This makes me such a novice in the airport. I think the TSA people can sense that I'm weak because they always prey on me. I had some bling on my jeans pockets so they swabbed my hands in case I used the bling to fire a handgun recently. The ink on the boarding pass I printed at the airport was almost out so they got suspicious of me again as I boarded. I tell you. It's so nerve-wracking. There were hiccups with the flight home too, but I will spare you those. Because I really want to talk about the reason I was abnormally flying mid-week.

I was able to attend my Grandma Shirley's funeral.

When I left Phoenix it was 78 degrees. Then I woke up my first morning in Idaho to this view from my in-laws windows.

 Only three of my nieces and nephews were able to come too. I am so in love with these beautiful, quirky kids.

 Music is usually a big part of family get-togethers. Here Brandon (who I was lucky enough to share a good portion of the travel time with) and Dad jam out on geetars.

 The funeral fit Grandma's personality exactly. Stories of her funny sayings she was famous for in the family were shared and there were lots of laughs. Grandkids shared their favorite memories, and my dad gave the life sketch, most of that from Grandma's own words that she wrote and are posted on rossshirley.blogspot.com.

The weather at the cemetery was not so perfect. Typical of Idaho a piercing wind bit hard and it was hard to hear Uncle Ard's dedicatory prayer. We didn't stay long. It was muddy and slushy too.  I'm not used to dealing with such weather adjectives.

It was wonderful to catch up with cousins I hadn't seen since Grandpa's funeral in 2008. It's sad that the direct link with them is severed with Grandma's passing, but we are blessed to have Facebook and email and instagram and lots of ways to stay connected that other generations haven't had. I will always be able to see what they are up to, and we will have to make the effort to get together on occasion. This is a great family, and I'm blessed to have been born into it. Grandma instilled in us an unequaled dedication and devotion to family. We will keep that legacy alive in honor of her.

I didn't know if I would see this poor doggie alive again. Annie has had cancer for a while now and doesn't want to play catch like she used to. My kids love this dog. She has always had a soft spot in their hearts.

Speaking of hearts, this kid gets right in yours and fills it all up in seconds. I love this nephew! He oozes happiness all the time. I asked his mom how does she ever know if he's ever hungry or tired, because he never gets fussy? She says he will start to grunt a little and that's how they know. Seriously. He's the fattest, sweetest angel!

This is fatty's daddy, Brett, my brother growing the best stache ever. I really don't know anyone else who could pull this off. It's awesome.

 I loved bonding with these kids, but it was great to return to my babies. When I came home I got a warm reception from a little girl who was sure her mom must have disappeared. She ran to me with open arms and I promised her I wouldn't be flying mid-week away from her any time soon.

Autumn in Idaho

I woke up today still wondering how it's possible I am here in Idaho, an unexpected whirlwind of last-minute planning, driving, fast food, driving, fast food, driving that carried us here for Grandpa's funeral. I can't remember the last time I got to see fall in all its splendor. I forgot how beautiful this season is. I don't know how many choices we had about our lives before God placed us here, but if I got to pick the season I could die in, I would have circled fall. There's something so apppropriate about the idea, especially to celebrate a life long-lived, and well-lived.

It was a beautiful funeral and how fitting the graveside services took place in a soft rain. No one complained about the cold, there were umbrellas for everyone. How could we complain? Grandpa would have thought the whole thing too much fuss over him anyway, ridiculous so many of us traveled so far to stand in the rain at a graveside in Sugar City, Idaho. It was a wonderful reunion with cousins I hadn't seen for years, their children now the ages I will always think of them as being.

And now we get stay for a week. It's fall break after all and the kids were out of school anyway. Thanks, Grandpa, for timing it so perfectly for us! My kids are unfamiliar with Grandma's house in autumn- first things first: there are leaves to play in.

Grandpa

I got a phone call at 7 a.m. this morning. By the time I got down the stairs to answer it I knew that it was someone telling me my grandpa had passed away. He was 96 years old, 96! Born in 1912, a month or so after the Titanic sank. I'm grateful to my dad who had posted some pictures of him on our family blog. I wanted to show off my favorites of him on mine.

Here he is serving as an officer during WWII. This, my friends, is what "cool" is.

He was dreaming about this girl, Margiewhom he later married. They celebrated their 61st anniversary in May. After the Teton dam broke in June 1976 causing massive flooding, Grandpa found a dead man in his garden. He calmly brushed the mud off of his face and asked his sons, "Does anybody know him?" This is their home surrounded in flood water when the flood victim was being removed.
This is Rexburg in 1917 taken when he was a little boy. As a 12-year-old, he lost his father to appendicitis, leaving a wife and a pack of kids just a few years before the Depression roared in. There was an abundance of work to do at home and a shortage of food. Last night my grandpa was able to see his father whom he hadn't seen for 82 years!

As a police officer once he walked the railroad tracks picking up pieces of a man who had been hit by a train. They found all but the face which was later located stuck to the bottom of the train. A few months ago a local news channel wanted to do a story on him. He declined, saying he wasn't interesting enough.

More than anything else, I'll remember Grandpa's sense of humor. He was always telling funny stories and saying the funniest phrases. He liked to say that he loved "having a roll in bed with honey." I think that funny gene was his legacy, as it trickled down into his children and grandchildren. That Shirley sense of humor we have now was either learned through him, or inherited from him. Either way it's here to stay

so he'll always be here.