Life Goes On

We're back home after driving to Rochester, NY, for my great-uncle's funeral. It was a rough trip because my 11-year old son, Craig, got sick with a stomach virus while we were there. Poor kid - it's awful to be that sick when you're away from home.

I'm glad we went, though. It was good to be with my family, and I think it's so important to expose kids to the traditions and rituals surrounding a family death. It's good for them to see that life goes on and to experience the coming together of family to celebrate someone's life. We looked at old family pictures (yes, I finished the slideshow in time!), told stories, shared memories, and even laughed. After visiting hours at the funeral home, my whole extended family (what's left of us) went to a Ukrainian restaurant for dinner. My great-grandparents came to the U.S. from the Ukraine, and my great-uncle Charlie was the last of their kids. It felt right to be celebrating his life with traditional foods.

We don't live near any of our family, so it's extra-important to me to include my kids in family traditions and to show them how to draw comfort from family when you lose someone. Unfortunately, we've had too much death in our family recently. I think my Uncle Charlie was the 9th person we've lost (in my family and in Ken's) in the past 6 years. I hope that these experiences will help my kids when they're faced with the death of someone very close to them. I was devastated for many months when my grandmother died when I was 10.

So, anyway, here we are back home, but my life still feels in limbo. How can it possibly be January 15 already?? Our house is horribly cluttered, and all of my optimistic plans to start the year off clean and organized have been put on hold. We got back Monday night at 11 pm, and Craig's birthday was Tuesday! Since then, I haven't felt well. Besides the obvious stress and extra exertion, I think I may have a touch of the stomach virus Craig had. My over-active immune system has fought off the worst of it, but I've had some stomach cramps and nausea, in addition to the CFS exhaustion and achiness. I'm able to sit up and use the laptop this morning, so I'm hoping I'll come out of this soon.

THEN, I'll start the new year off right!