Day 1434

Monday, December 19, 2016

We left in the morning for the viewing.  Mom wanted to go and say goodbye.  I had no desire but went with mom anyway.  It was a truly intense experience, a moment I will never forget.  Christy, Craig Jr., Calvin, Elisabeth, mom and I went to the viewing.  Craig's body was on a table in the small chapel of the funeral home.  There was music playing, quiet and appropriate.  Mom really broke down.  Waves of emotion passed through her.  It was emotional for everyone.  We were there for about ten minutes.  They had done a very good job making Craig look lifelike.  He looked as if he were asleep.  He'll be cremated next week.  There will be a memorial for him in Bellingham sometime in January.

We came home and I was tasked with writing Craig's obituary.  No one else wanted to do it, so I stuck myself in a room and banged out 650 words of text.  It took six hours to write.  It felt like ten minutes.  By the time I was finished, Cari and her daughter Jasmine had arrived.  Cami and Marty arrived a little later.  All five of Craig's kids were at mom's.  I thought that was special.

I let them all read the obituary I wrote and they gave me edits, changes, etc.  I'm glad that's behind me.  They'll print it in the Bellingham Herald next week.

We all stayed up late.  I finally went to bed around midnight.  This was an especially difficult day.

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