We went through his mail to look at cards and started a pile of cards with memorial gifts so when I go back down later this week to help write Thank You's we have all those cards together. Then we looked at all Dad's ties to find a tie that would go good with the suit he was going to wear and lastly he wanted me to check his hair to see if he needed to visit his barber. I told him that he needed to get his neck trimmed up.
When I hit WDM I went to the car wash and then filled the car with gas so I wouldn't have to deal with that later and then crashed until Traci arrived around 5:00 from Peoria. My niece Chrissy - who works in DSM but lives in Pella - stopped by at 5:30 so the three of us were able to have a nice visit and get Casey's pizza for supper.
By 7:30 yesterday both Traci and I were heading to Pella. When Traci checked a map she saw it was almost a straight shot from Bloomfield to Peoria, so she would be heading home from Bloomfield instead of driving back to WDM with me and then driving home. I called Dad as we left WDM to let him know we would be stopping by the apartment to drop off my car and pick him up to drive to the church. While driving in Des Moines Tuesday Traci had gotten some tar on the right front tire of her car - you know it's hot when the tar comes up off the street. She had pulled a big glob of tar off the tire in Des Moines but she found out driving to Pella there was still some tar on the tire because when she drove much over 60 her car started to shimmy.
When we picked up Dad we asked him what gas station Traci could run her car up to for them to get the tar off the tire and he mentioned Braafhart's - so off we go so they could look at the tire. Traci ran Dad and me to the church so we would be there for family visitation from 9-10 and then she took her car back to the gas station.
Several people stopped by to visit with Dad and me before the service - it was fun getting caught up with lots of folks that had been in the church when I was a teenager. I even saw a couple of the guys that were my age or a year behind that I got to visit with. My best friend from 7th grade Lori, was able to make the service which meant a lot since her mother passed in the early morning after Mother's Day this year. My assistant pastor and family came for the service and that was special - I also got a kick out of pointing Bo out to folks - he's the little guy that got to help spray paint my house :) But the two ladies that totally blew me away when they showed up for family visitation were my boss and team lead from work! You've read about my saying how much I enjoy my new job - how much fun Submittal Exchange is with monthly barbeque's, playing fuseball/darts/bags - and just a real nice bunch of people. These two ladies took time out of their work day to drive down to support me - a new employee - and that meant more than they will ever know. They also handed me a card that everyone at work had written small notes to me that is on my night stand.
While I was not looking forward to the service - it was amazing - Pastor Chuck Courtney officiated and his wife Sandy sang one song. We've known Chuck and Sandy since I was 4 or 5 - they were Mom and Dad's Youth Pastor's in Urbandale - and they have kept in contact with my folks all through the years. Chuck gave an outstanding message. I have never head people say Amen at a funeral :) And not too long after Chuck started the sun started shining through the sky light in the ceiling to brighten up the sanctuary and then all of a sudden the sun just shown right on Dad to light him up.
We had a very nice meal time after the service in the basement of the church were people stopped by to talk to Dad, introduce themselves to me if I'd never met them or say, "do you remember me" if I did know them. Some of them really made me think for a couple of minutes :) Dad doesn't know this until now that he's reading my blog but I asked lots of people to keep an eye on him for me and they told me they would :) And that gives me some peace of mind knowing neighbors in his apartment building will keep track of him along with lots of folks in town.
Around 12:30 those of us going to Bloomfield to the cemetery got into cars and headed south. I rode with Traci and Dad rode with his sister (Aunt Verta) so she wouldn't be driving by herself back to Bloomfield where she lives. Traci and I got to Bloomfield a little early so we drove around the Square and I showed her where Grandma Loper and Uncle (Mom's mom and brother) had lived in an apartment above the Square. We also went inside the courthouse to find the Hall of Fame plaque that had Uncle Loell's name on it - he had been inducted to the Bloomfield Hall of Fame a few years back. It was nice to talk to one of the ladies from the Auditor's office that remembered Uncle Loell and what a character he was - and she was my age :)
Traci and I got to the cemetery a little early so I was able to show her Grandma Loper and Uncle's stones which are a couple of rows away from Mom and Dad's stone and then Grandma and Grandpa Hill's stone (Dad's parents) which are in the row past Grandma Loper and Uncle's. For some reason Mom and Dad had purchased the plot next to their two and Memorial Day weekend 2010 when we were at the cemetery for Mom to place flowers on the graves they finally convinced me it would be nice if I at least had a marker on the extra plot to basically note my existance - I will be cremated. So last summer I ordered a marker but had never seen it in person.
While it was an extremely hot day with the heat index somewhere between 105 and 110 we had a very good breeze at the cemetery. Pastor Courtney said a few words and then had a nice prayer - then invited us to the Bloomfield Open Bible Church for cookies, bars and punch. We said our good-byes to Traci and headed to the church for a little visiting and then back to Pella. One of the ladies that lives in Pella that has known Mom and Dad forever - that was raised in Ottumwa - drove to the cemetery so Dad and I had a ride back to Pella.
About 10 miles outside of Pella I got a call from my friend that was going to let Butler out for me saying he was on the floor in distress and she couldn't get him outside. While I didn't like to hear that - it happens sometimes when he gets off the mats I have on the laminate floor. If he "goes down" he can't get back up unless I help him up. Well Butler evidently didn't want Chris to get too close to him but Chris stayed for a little while with him.
After being dropped off at Dad's apartment we stopped by the funeral home to pick up a few things - I left Dad in the car (running with the AC on). Well, it took a little longer for me to pick up those few things from the funeral director and as I was opening the door of the funeral home, here comes Dad walking toward the funeral home door - leaving my car running. I told him to "get back in the car in the AC" and then said it's a good thing we were in Pella since he'd just gotten out of my car and left it running :) We stopped at the church to pick up the 2-3 flower arrangements and some food the ladies packaged for Dad and then back to his apartment. I really didn't want to leave quickly but it was going on 5:00 and I had an old dog in distress so I needed to head home. Dad walked me out to the car to hug me and as he went back inside I got myself situated (opened my pop, got my sandwich ready to eat, etc.) and started to cry. I looked at the passenger seat - where Mike should have been - and cried for two blocks wishing he was there for me. And then the tears just stopped and I started to eat my ham sandwich. It's like God knew I had to cry just a bit but because of all the prayers and love that has gone out to Dad and me, that's all the sadness I had - two blocks. I had dreaded the drive from Pella back home - alone - but it was ok. It was just a drive.
I have a tuck-under garage that I enter the house through the basement and the minute I slammed the basement door I heard a bark from upstairs and I said "thank you God" so I knew Butler was still with me at least :) There he was on the kitchen floor but not in near the distress I've found him in the past. I got him up and held on to him until he got "his legs" and outside we went and then he was fine.
