While none of us relished the reason for this reunion, my family enjoyed catching up on each other's lives during the weekend of my mother's celebration of life service. We had not had such a gathering since the December 2018 post-Christmas gathering in our home. Despite glitches that interrupted the whole family gathering, I think everyone who came was blessed in greeting and spending time with one another. It is quite an undertaking to bring 32 people together. (We were missing 3 from my family and 2 from my sister's. My husband was still battling pain from his hernia site and felt he needed to be near the home-front for our younger boys and dog. My sister's sons couldn't get off work because they had just missed some for their other grandmother's celebration of life service.)
Without much planning time, flight prices were high. To halve our expenses, my younger brother Tim and I shared a rental car and a hotel room. The reason I have billed this post as a mid-month mention is because the hotel we stayed in deserves a resounding mention. The only hotel we found in Largo that could accommodate 5 people was the Home 2 Suites. It was an outstanding room with 2 queen beds and a pull-out couch bed (my billet space for the duration). We kept remarking that it felt as if they had anticipated our every need. The room boasted a full size refrigerator, a microwave, glass dishware, and a dishwasher. It was chock full of space for placing items (with shelves on the walls and drawers beneath counter-top space), plus it had a rolling table/desk and chair.
It was the breakfast buffet that launched this hotel into top rating in my book. I have never seen such an extensive display of options in a moderately-priced hotel. With choices of fruits, cereals, bread and muffins, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, about 12 choices of hot sandwiches and omelets, a Belgian waffle machine, and a whole host of toppings available (like chocolate chips, strawberry sauce, syrup, peanut butter, etc.), it was hard to narrow in on what you wanted to eat. I had an Applewood bacon/egg/swiss on a ciabatta one morning, and a turkey sausage and swiss on an English muffin another morning. Last time I stayed there (with my sister in January 2023), they had my specific kind of creamer preference (Coffee Mate hazelnut), but this time I settled for the French Vanilla.
On Saturday morning, Tim's kids went to the outdoor pool. On Sunday morning, I used the hotel rec room to walk on a treadmill. We were given a goodie bag of waters and treats upon our arrival and my brother's name was pegged into a welcome screen on the television. Every detail made our stay more enjoyable. I highly recommend Home 2 Suites.
The family was set to meet up for a family lunch my dad had catered at The St. Petersburg Citadel Corps, where the celebration of life service would be held at 3. Sadly, we were all late except for him. He arrived and texted to find out where everyone else was. Tim, his kids, and I arrived first, then my oldest brother and his extensive family (his 3 children have given my dad 5 great-grandchildren):
Next, my brother Mark's family (5 of their kids, apart from their oldest son who drove on his motorcycle from KY for the event). Then, we saw Bryce and Elizabeth arrive. We enjoyed the time at various tables. Sadly, my sister and her family only caught the tail-end because she was still finalizing many difficulties with the cardstock programs for the service.
We had hoped to have a video of the service posted on FB, but when we went to view it later, it said, "This video has no sound." Very disappointing, as several who couldn't make it had expressed a desire to watch it later. At the front of the sanctuary, sat a large photo of my mother:
My younger brother went first for the family tributes. Fearing my older brother, Mark, had backed out (his expressed intent on Friday night), I went up next. My niece captured a video:
Then, Mark gave a quite lengthy talk (perhaps more sermon than tribute - ha! I worried he might be taking thoughts Dawn intended to present in her eulogy). I was glad they opened it up for 1-2 sentence tributes by people in the church. Dawn's thoughts were helpful and well-done. Before we knew it, the service was over. Everyone was invited to the fellowship hall for snacks of my mother's favorite foods: burgers, onion rings, and Coke. We were able to snag multiple photos of various family groups (if others had not taken them, I would have nothing to show for this event, as I'm no photographer).
Flights were more expensive on Sunday, so many of us stuck around until Monday. Tim, his youngest daughter Amelia, and I all spent the day with my dad. We took him to church, then out for lunch and then sat in his apartment together.
I'm glad we were able to share time with him before we departed on Monday. I'm glad I spent most of my time with my youngest brother and his kids (they are a hoot and provided some much-needed levity for my weekend away). Although the circumstances bringing us together were sad, I think everyone really felt blessed by the time we were able to spend with one another.
1 comment:
Somehow I missed this post, thus the late response. It sounds like the family gathering brought blessings. It's hard to lose a mother, and the celebration of her life was a lovely tribute.
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