Day After Funeral

December 4 was the day after Father-in-law's funeral. Everyone gathered here at our house to open cards and write thank-you's. Six sons, their wives and an assortment of grandchildren filled our house. My father-in-law's twenty grandchildren range in age from 33 down to five years, so that was a wide variety of lifestages represented!

An assembly line for opening the sympathy cards and memorials was set up. Those present with good penmanship were drafted to write thank-you messages and address envelopes.

My main focus of the day was to keep enough food available. It turned out that we had just enough of everything to make it through the day------ two meals and various snacks for in between. Keeping a smile pasted on my face was also a priority, and being cheerful no matter what I felt like inside.

After finishing the day's thank-you's, the sons went to their dad's house and brought back several boxes of old family photos. These were sorted and each son took a pile home. The really old photos were left here at our house, meaning we'll probably be looking through them all winter. Some are over 100 years old and are really a hoot, with the severe facial expressions and hairdos, and clothing of the era.

By the time evening barn chores were done, I was completely exhausted. Thankfully, everyone had remained in remarkably good spirits despite all the time we'd spent together the last few days. Father-in-law would be happy about that. Let's hope that feeling of love and goodwill can continue through the upcoming process of settling the estate.