The Calm After the Storm

Yesterday was the Memorial Service for my FIL. In the days leading up to it, everyone was super busy with planning. We spent a couple of hours Saturday at the funeral home making arrangements and writing the obituary. We spent many more hours huddled together at my MIL's house crying and laughing with each memory. Saturday night, the Hubby and I stayed up and cried together on the couch. At 12:15 Sunday morning (exactly 24 hours after my FIL was pronounced) I had Hubby thinking of good memories and he even smiled some.

As Hubby fell asleep on the couch, I called a man who is very dear to my heart and broke down. I sat on the front porch for a solid hour and as exhausted as I was, I cried to him over and over again. When I could cry no longer, I came inside, covered Hubby and kissed him on the forehead. I made my way to bed and when Little One woke up bright and early Sunday morning, I brought him into bed with me. Of course, I had hope that he would lay down and go back to sleep but I wasn't so lucky. But I must say, it felt good to snuggle with him.

Sunday brought yet another busy day. We met with the doctor this day for his opinion on what went wrong. I believe we all found comfort in his explanation and he was positive that my FIL didn't suffer. I think there is some relief in that fact, at least there is for me. Sunday afternoon was busy still, with finalizing the obituary and fielding phone calls and floral deliveries. People came by with food and condolences.

Monday brought much of the same. I took Bug to school and Little One to daycare. Then I ran errands for the morning. Monday afternoon, I decided that my MIL needed some comic relief so when I picked the boys up, we headed to her house. I think the comic relief was definitely appreciated. But, eventually I had to bring the boys home and get them in the bed.

The next day would prove to be very difficult. I've already posted about the family visitation so I won't talk about that again. But yesterday was the service for my FIL. It was done at my church with the Lead Pastor and Pastor of Worship officiating. They did an incredible job in talking about the wonderful man that my FIL was and the tremendous impact that he made on his family. Afterwards, Martha's Ministry fed the entire family and we all had a chance to just sit and relax ... something none of us had done too much of. Yesterday evening we headed back to my MIL's house to visit with the entire family (they'd all flown or driven in from the Midwest).

Today. It's calm. There's nothing that had to be accomplished. So, all we are left with is our thoughts. Scary. I went back to work today. Hubby did not. Today was very tough for him. My prayer is that each day will get better. We always think about the calm before the storm and normally, yes, that is the case. But in this case, it's the calm after the storm and it ain't pretty.