things I want to remember

My bro-in-law's (LP) funeral was a week and a half ago. To say his death was unexpected and a shock to the whole family would be a complete understatement. There are some things I want to remember about the funeral, so I thought I'd make a note of them here while I think about it, and since it's convenient.

*sitting next to my 11-year-old nephew, Connor, during the viewing, talking to him, watching him play games on his Kindle, trying to solve brain teasers from a book he had

*watching my 16-year-old nephew, Taylor, sit on the other side of Connor until people started coming for the viewing. Then he got up and went to stand next to his mom without anyone telling him to. He just did it. He has a new level of maturity about him that I hadn't noticed before. I'm sad that he had to grow up and be the man in the house so quickly.

*the family prayer my bro gave

*walking into the chapel and seeing the impressive line of a dozen or so pilots on the stand. Seeing them standing there, mourning one of their own, made me cry.

*my sis playing "I Stand All Amazed" on the piano

*my sis deciding at the last minute to speak. She read a post from her blog called "Dear Taylor and Connor"

*the Bishop telling how he was in California when he heard the news of LP's death, and so he drove home as fast as he could. He said he even got his minivan up to 90 at one point, and somehow he knew LP was proud

*the Bishop telling of a girl who was watching the house next door to LP and Tammy while that family was on vacation, and when the girl went in the house, she discovered the back doors were wide open. She got scared and went to my sister's house. LP answered the door, and she explained what was going on. He told her to wait there, got one of his guns, and checked out the house. Everything was fine, however. He only took a pistol with him, but I still picture him charging next door with one of his big guns like some kind of action movie hero.

*the Bishop saying how he called LP before calling my sis to serve as Primary president, and asking if he would support her in a big calling that could take up a lot of her time. LP's answer "Absolutely."

*the rainy day, just like a funeral you would see in a movie

*the love a lot of people have for my sis and the boys

*my other bro's prayer at the graveside

*watching the casket being lowered into the ground

*the slideshow shown at the luncheon

*hanging out with the fam at my sister's home after it was over

*Gaston by my side throughout it all

*how hard it was to leave my sis and my nephews. I can't even imagine how hard this is for them. I wish I could do something to make everything better, but I know there's really nothing that I can do, except pray.

For more of Tammy's story, go to tammystimeflies.blogspot.com (Some day I'll figure out if it's possible to add links via the app)