Flying Back to Kansas City

Grandma Gigi and Her Grandson, Henry

Evie and James

Our Hosts for the Weekend, Evie's sister Claire and Son, David

Well, it’s 5:45 and I am sitting in Evie’s sister Claire’s house in Scottsdale, sans Internet (something happened to it over night), a terrible feeling, like I lost my favorite dog.  Just kidding.  So, I am forced to listen to MSNBC and write a word document about our stay here in Arizona.  And it’s the first time in a week when I have paid any attention to the news, to the ‘fiscal cliff,’ and all the political posturing on Capital Hill.  Boring!  When Claire got up, she was able to fix the Internet, so by 8:00, I was back on line, a happy camper.

Breakfast at Dot's with Laura and Family

Evie and her Niece, Kianna

We were up early yesterday, as I had to take Jill to the airport, leaving at 7:00, an easy twenty five minute ride there.  Little traffic either way, I stopped for coffee, went back to the condo, and we packed up and checked out by 9:00.  We went over to Dot's house, spent the morning talking with Laura, Leah, and Pat, who were leaving for Las Vegas around noon.  Elaine brought over a dozen Einstein bagels for breakfast, along with three different smears. Yum

We moved our bags over to my sister in law’s house and spent the afternoon there, with Beth and other family before the gang of cousin’s left for the airport around 2:00.  We were left with Evie’s sisters Claire and Jean, and Jean’s daughter, husband, and two sons.  We ended up babysitting for the two boys, so Jennifer and Robert could get a break, go out and have dinner on their own.  We spent most of our time taking the boys for a walk and playing outside in the park behind Claire’s house.  We sat on the lawn, brought out a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and enjoyed watching the boys crawl on the lawn as dusk approached. Jen’s family left around 6:00, to take the boys to bed, and the quiet in Claire’s house was deafening.  Three Petkovsek sisters and were left with me.  We had a great time replaying the past four days, sipping wine, and ended up getting take out from my  father in law’s favorite Chinese Restaurant, George’s, quite an name for an Asian Restaurant.  When George heard that Ed had died, he gave us a bottle of wine.  Nice guy. 

We sat around till about 8:00, when Jean drove home and then the three of us, all fans of The Good Wife, watched it on TV then went to bed and read before falling asleep about 10:15, tired from the lack of sleep the previous night.

Today, we will drive to the airport around 11:00, then fly to Kansas City, arriving at 5:00.  It’s been a sad but also wonderful week with family, many we have seen very little of over the past ten years.  It always amazes me how a simple word like ‘family’ is so powerful a force.  The cousins, for example, had not seen each other in probably 15 years, yet they ended up having great fun together, promised to stay in touch, friended each other on Facebook if they had not already done so.  I guess that’ the ultimate goal of a funeral, to bring the family back together, renew ties, mourn for the loss and then go on, with stronger family ties, promises to keep more in touch.