The men on Uncle Dan’s side of the family favor facial hair.
- I love listening to my dad play the guitar and sing.
- I love listening to my family sing together.
- I hide from people by pretending to work on my computer when I don’t know what to say.
- There is a gaping hole in our family now.
- My dad keeps all of his guitar music in a special folder with special plastic protectors and carries it with him any time he goes out of town. He keeps all the photos he has of my brother and me as kids in a trash bag. I’m not sure he knows where the bag is. I’m not taking it personally.
- My grandpa plays a mean harmonica.
- I love Iowa. Even when it’s ridiculously cold and windy and nothing is blooming. It’s still beautiful to me.
- My family has the best sense of humor on the planet, even when we are grieving.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I have nothing to say. Thanks for coming ,Mel. I love you and your family.
I have nothing to say. Thanks for coming ,Mel. I love you and your family.
When you really want to post you have to do it twice.
When you really want to post you have to do it twice.
Personally, that is one thing that I love about my family. We are able to find the laughter in the midst of tragedy.
Your family sounds fabulous. I’m so sorry that you are all grieving.
Humor and grief have always made strange bedfellows…but I think a good sense of humor is a gift from God to help us get through times just like this.
Thinking about you during this obviously difficult time.
You know when you talk about the place I call home with such tenderness, it makes me love you more!
When I think of all the times growing up and going between two farms here at my grandparents, I think of that quote from Field of Dreams because it’s so true, “And the memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.”
That’s how a place should feel when it’s special to you.
When you are “home” this summer, don’t forget to tell me so we can get together!
There is a huge hole in our family now.
“He Was A Freind Of Mine” has always been a favorite song of mine, but sadly, for me it is a reminder of a very sad time.
“Every time I think of him, I just can’t keep from crying.
He was a freind of mine.”
BTW: I have the pictures right by my computer table. Many memories in that bag, I do keep it close.
I think humor really helps the grieving process. I’m glad you’ve got it in spades.
What does that mean, anyway? In spades?
FACIAL HAIR? Isn’t your dad the one who had the handlebar moustache while we were growing up? He still doesn’t look like Uncle J to me, without it.
Humour is what keeps you going, especially now. It kept me going when my husband died 18 months ago.
Thanks for visiting….Jeana is absolutely lovely, and I am so happy to have met her. And I know we will be meeting again soon. It was great to talk about our friends too…in the nicest possible way!
Wow, can I go on your next trip to Iowa?
Your family sounds wonderful. So glad you had each other during this horribly difficult time.
I see that your visit was for a family tragedy so you have my condolences.
But I do want to say that Iowa is a whole lot better than most people give it credit for.
I love reading about “us” in your blog. We are a very special bunch of people, if I do say so myself. Did you tell your friends how we wore nametags the night of the visitation because we have such a large family and so many of us are from out-of-town? And did you tell them how the grieving widow also put a nametag on her husband in the casket….until his own no-sense-of-humor family arrived.