Honoring Grandma

Scott’s uncle described it best. When we got the news that Scott’s grandma had passed away a few weeks ago, it was a sad “Hallelujah.” Grandma is such a sweet and loving woman. She dedicated her life to serving others. She was always cooking, sewing, painting, etc. When we visited her this past summer, she told me how sad she was that she wasn’t able to make anything with her hands anymore. She has been trapped in an ailing body for years. In most recent years, she’s been bed ridden. She was mentally ready to part this world and be reunited with her parents, siblings, husband, and three sons.

So while we were sad for ourselves, we rejoiced for Grandma.

**** Warning: This is a long post with few pictures, but a lot of entertaining stories. ***

Our journey to and from Phoenix was an adventure. Scott and the kids had such a misadventure last time driving down, that we decided we would fly. (Plus we didn’t want Scott to miss so much time from work and Lily so much time from school.) It would be Lily and Zeke’s first time on an airplane. I was so nervous about how they would handle it. I had concerns about going through security. What could we take through there? I also worried about how they would handle the flight. (Nothing like being trapped in a confined space with no chance of escape if my children have a melt down to raise my stress level.) I did my research, I made a plan, and I said a few prayers.

We got to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. Zeke did not like going through security. He has a little play phone (my really old phone) that he loves to tuck in his little pocket. Unfortunately, he needed to put that on the conveyer belt. He melted at that point. I tried getting his jacket off, and his screams increased. The TSA agent was really nice. He helped us get Zeke through security as quickly and painlessly as possible. When we got to our gate, we found out our first flight was cancelled. Scott’s mom and Michael were already at the gate. The agent was trying to get them on an earlier flight with connections to Phoenix. She was able to get them on the flight. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get Scott, the kids and I seated by each other, and the man at the gate flat out refused to let us board the plan and ask people to switch seats with us (because that would make the plane late). Our bags made it on that flight, but we didn’t. At this point, I’m banking on our trip being a disaster. I decide to take the kids over to some seats to play while Scott worked with the agent. She was able to get us on a direct flight with a different airline seven hours later.

Luckily, SeaTac is a great airport to entertain our kids in. Not only is there a shuttle that we took rides on, but there’s also a great play area for kids 7 and under. The kids played there for hours, while we waited. They even made a friend and played Hide and Seek with him. Funny story, I warned this boy that Zeke isn’t very good at Hide and Seek. He decided to play anyway. He closes his eyes and starts counting. Lily runs off to hide. Zeke stands two feet behind this boy and waits. When the boy is done counting, he opens his eyes, turns around and see Zeke standing there smiling. All the parents and Zeke burst out laughing! The boy was a really good sport about it and was patient as he coached Zeke how to play the game.

They weren’t able to seat Scott near the kids and I. So Lily and Zeke sat with me in the very last row of the plane. I got us and all our things situated. Zeke hates wearing a seat belt. Airplanes are no exception to that sentiment. The stewardess came by and pretended to be really tough and scary to convince him to wear his seat belt. That stewardess was so nice and helpful. An hour and a half into the flight the kids have both been quiet and well behaved. I’m so impressed with them. Then, Lily turns to me and says, “I’m going to throw up.” I hadn’t made a mental note of wear the air sick bag is kept or what it looks like. (I’ve never had to use it.) I hand her the only thing I have, a cup and pray it’s big enough. She fills it completely and then stops. I breath a sigh of relief as I press the button to call the stewardess. I explain what happened. Before she can come back with a bag, Lily throws up again, this time on the floor in front of Zeke. I then get a bag for Lily in time for her to throw up a third time in it. Lily was such a little trooper. She didn’t cry or make a scene. She would just calmly tell me what she needed. The sweet stewardess got Lily gingerale, pretzels and potato chips to help calm her stomach. Everyone around me was great about it. They knew it was the kids’ first flight. They complimented me on how well the kids’ behaved and how Lily handled the situation. When we landed, Scott came back to our row and asked, “So how did it go?” I just laughed and told him what happened. He was so surprised!

We finally made it to Phoenix. We then had to track down our bags, which included our car seats, and then take a bus over to the car rental center. I was so relieved to finally get to our hotel. What a relief to be there, to unpack our bags and tuck the kids into bed.

The funeral was the next day. The service was beautiful. Grandma had made special requests for her funeral, and all of those requests were honored. She requested that all the young great-grandkids sing “I am a Child of God.” Zeke did a great job sitting quietly and playing with the toys I had brought for him for an hour and forty minutes. By that point, all the toys were boring for him. He stumbled upon my tablet and insisted on playing a game on it with the sound on. I couldn’t let him have the sound on, so he had a melt down. I had to take him out of the church.

At the luncheon, there was a sweet, old lady who came around and served each of us cake. Her willingness to serve us touched me so much.

That night, everyone went swimming at the pool. Well . . . we weren’t able to find our swimsuits when we were packing, so Lily and Zeke went swimming in some of their clothes. Scott’s cousin and brother-in-law were great about monitoring the kids in the pool. Chris even took Zeke around the pool three times. He was Zeke’s hero!

 

Saturday, we had professional family pictures taken at the Mesa Temple, followed by a family reunion at the neighboring park. (The above pictures were pictures we snapped ourselves. We’re still waiting for copies of the professional pictures.) It was fun to hang out with aunts, uncles, and cousins in a more casual setting.

That night, we went to a reception hall for a nice dinner, and a video tribute to Grandma. We also received a very touching gift. Grandma wrote a letter to be given to us at her funeral. In that letter she expressed her love and admiration for her family. It was so touching to read her words.

Sunday was another day of traveling adventures. When we went to check in with United, we were informed that although we were flying “United” our flight was actually with “US Airways.” That required us to get on a bus with all our bags, carseats, and two kids in tow and go to a different terminal. We were then greeted with an incredibly long line. We finally made it to check in, and the computer couldn’t find our reservations. So we were sent to the special needs line where an agent worked with us for 30 minutes to get us on a different flight three hours later. I am so grateful for her. She was great!

Zeke still didn’t like going through security, but at least he didn’t cry or throw a tantrum this time.

Luckily, our flights went without further adventure. I ordered ginger ale for her on each flight (despite her best efforts to request orange juice). I was so relieved to come home. Our time in Phoenix was wonderful. I’m so glad we were able to go and celebrate the life of such a wonderful woman.