Update

Tonight is the "visitation" for my brother-in-law. Tomorrow is the funeral. The owners of the funeral home are expecting this to be the highest attended service the town has seen in a very long time. My sister is a grade school media specialist (her husband was killed on her last day of school for the year), and 28 of her co-workers drove en masse to her house to see her yesterday. Before they left, I asked them to come outside for a prayer. We stood in a big circle and held hands and I thanked God for the 40 years she had with the love of her life, and for all the people who love her and who loved him, and asked for an extra measure of strength for her. For God to hold her in his hand like a tiny baby, and to assure her that he is along for the awful ride.

I have never seen anyone be so shredded and so strong at the same time.

Pat, my brother-in-law, loved his dog, Petie, so much that Petie has been given a fresh bath so she (yes, a female named Petie) can go to the funeral. My sister has gathered up several things to put into the casket with Pat. She had her grandkids give Petie a good brushing, then they put the hair from the brush in a ziploc bag to lay next to him.

In a few days, I will need to write more about all this, and so again I will give you a Bleakness Warning. I never intended for this blog to become a hub of grief. It is just what keeps me functioning.