Weekend update time. Thanks for all the wishes y'all, much appreciated.
The service was beautiful and the preparer must have been very good because Grandmother in her casket looked great, to the point I had to walk away after viewing her for just a few moments. We all agreed that the secondary presenter needs to work on his singing voice a bit, but hey-- more power to him, it takes a lot of confidence to stand in front of a group of strangers and sing for them.
I knew we had tall genes in the family, but being around them all at once is something else. Normally I tower over everyone in any room in which I am standing. But here, even in heels, I was looking up at most of the men/boys.
Dad had three siblings-- my aunt, and his half-brother and half-sister (via divorce)-- and all were there. I only knew one of them well-- his full sister, who is my favorite aunt. She had four chlldren, all daughters, all cheerleader/majorette types who if I'm not mistaken every single one was homecoming queen. I haven't seen my cousins in years. Most memories are from when we were children, fighting over toys in grandma's house, or swimming in grandpa's pool. They were all great. Didn't skip a beat greeting me, had genuine smiles for me, and we chatted and gossiped together to the point that my dad had to drag me away when he wanted to leave. I think I'd still be there chatting with my two closest cousins even now if I hadn't been sharing the rental car with my parents.
One of my aunts even told my mom that she thought I was very attractive, and I fit in perfectly with my cousins. So that felt pretty damn great. And the cousin I hung out with most when we were young, lives in StL now and we have plans to meet up and introduce my daughter to them in October-- so DD will gain relationships with an aunt, uncle, and two cousins this fall!
I was sad that I had to fly out of there Saturday. But the one good thing about the flight time is the guy in line in front of me at the ticket counter swapped numbers with me, and the next time I'm in L.A., I've got a booty call if I need it. And damn he was good-looking too. rofl.