I sat in a quaint Grass Valley church today at my Papa's memorial service. Flowers were knotted at the end of each pew and lining the small stage. On the screen at the side, pictures of my grandfather flipped through in a slideshow. In each picture, he was surrounded by family. He had 6 kids--such a fun, large family. I loved seeing my dad in college in the tiny shorts. Or Aunt Margie when she was a spunky, brown kid running around on the beach. There were pictures of me and my sisters reading in his lap, or him and my Nana at family Christmas and birthday parties. When the slideshow ended, there wasn't a dry eye in the church.
Watching it, and listening to all his kids and grandkids share their favorite memories of Papa, I realized all over again the importance of family. I've always been a family girl, a homebody. But family can be frustrating, dysfunctional, and just a bit zany. But they're family. And sometimes, that's all that matters–– that's all we need. Hearing stories about a Papa that I could barely remember (he'd been sick for so long), I noticed that there were so many things he passed down to his kids. Those crazy random songs my dad makes up? He got that from Papa. The random nuttiness and humor... a strong emotional side... family loyalty and love of home...it's all stuff that started with him and got passed all the way down to us. My Papa and Nana started a legacy, and now we all have each other––one big, happy, crazy family. Everyone banned together over these last days, laughing and eating... and just remembering why we all love each other.
I loved seeing my Papa remembered. I loved seeing all the things he had passed down to his family. Things that I will one day pass on to my kids. Families can't help but be messy sometimes. But when we have unconditional love, when we cling to good memories, when we embrace the lovely things about family...that's what's good about life. I hope that at my memorial service, my children will be happy about the things I passed on to them. And I hope one thing they learn from me is the love of family.
