Grandma Swoboda died early in the morning on December 3. Margaret Jean Swoboda was Ben's paternal grandmother, and a very special woman. Mattie Jean was named for her. She lived a good life and a good death. A few days before she died she was able to receive the sacraments, including Communion, and she had her children with her at the end. The last time she received Communion, she spoke to the priest as if she was speaking to Jesus and said, "I love you." That story gives us great joy and a tremendous example to live up to. We found out Friday evening that she had passed, so Saturday morning we hopped on a plane with the girls (their first airplane ride) for Cape Girardeau and the funeral.
The trip itself went pretty well. We drove to Hartford, flew to St. Louis, then drove to Cape. Mattie slept the whole time and Celia was infinitely entertained by the planes. While grandma's passing was sad, it was also a wonderful opportunity for the family to gather and for the Missouri family to meet Mattie.
When we arrived at Nanaw and Pawpaw's house, Celia headed straight to where her toys used to be. She settled in there as if we had never left, and Nanaw and Pawpaw reveled in their time with the girls. We had time to sit around and talk about memories of Granma Swoboda and good times in Cairo. Ben shared the story of the last visit he had with Granma in her house before she went into the home while he was on leave from the navy. Everyone had fond memories of her and the sweet person she was.
Everyone was generous, bringing food, and we spent good time with the family. The visitation was Monday night, and we trekked over to Cairo, IL for the viewing and rosary from 4-7. Celia was so good through it all, even though her schedule was in ruin. Mattie slept in the Moby wrap and complained when strangers held her. The funeral was Tuesday morning, and Hannah, Elliott, and Becky sang a song graveside. Afterwards, the community served a lunch and the family spent some time together. Celia handled it all like a champ, although Mattie had a harder time of it. We're discovering that Mattie is a child that dislikes change and strange people more than Celia.
The flights home went very well, but the drive home was hard. The girls were tired and tired of traveling. We stopped for a meal on the drive home, and Celia threw up in the McDonalds before we ordered. She wasn't sick otherwise or after, so it must have just been a slight upset. She even ate quite a bit. We made it, though. Ben had to take a trip the next day and left at 3 am after we got back somewhat late. He was exhausted, as were we all, but we managed to make it through the long weekend and get back into a routine. It was a great trip and a great opportunity to remember a wonderful woman.
Rest in peace, Granma Jean
No comments:
Post a Comment