Funeral weekend

I'm in a much better place, emotionally, than I have been over the past couple of weeks. Being in Montana this past week was so cathartic for me ... being with family, laughing and crying, getting used to the house without dad in it, helping make the necessary plans and attending the funeral.It was, by far, the most interesting funeral I've ever been to. Dad was not a spiritual guy -- in fact, quite the opposite sometimes. The funeral had everything from tears and laughter, spiritual and sacriligious, great memories, yodeling (no joke) and country songs. It was an open-mike forum so lots of people stood and told memories of dad or shared something they learned from him. The funeral director told me afterward that he had never laughed so much in a Catholic church. Dad would have loved it.

Quinn put together a beautiful slide show of dad's life and a video of dad's haiku also played on a loop. Red Lodge is a small town, so most of the town knew dad. Some stores closed for the funeral and there was standing room only at the church.

We 6 kids sat on the front row with mom, with all of our families behind us.Dad's only sibling, my Uncle Pat, and their cousin, Tom.Only a small part of Shirlee's family, the Trujillos. Auntie Teri, Uncle Mitchell, Nana, Auntie Peggy and some of my cousins in the background. The Trujillos were such a huge part of my childhood, especially, since I spent every summer with them. It was so, so good to see so many of them.Uncle Pat and Aunt Susan (on leave from their mission in Toronto) with my cousins Cory, Ryan & Linsey. We had a great time together for a couple of days.And the little Farley cousins had a great time, too. We all stayed together in a townhome, with cousins sleeping on the floor and in the closets. We haven't all been together like that in ... well a long, long time.My little brother, Thomas, his fiance, Katie, and their adorable daughter, Leokadia. It was my first time meeting Katie & baby Leo, who are both so great. Aunt Susan & my brother, Quinn.One of many group meals. One waitress in this cafe came up to our group with tears in her eyes. She talked about knowing dad and how often he went there to eat. She said he loved their lemon meringue pie and would usually eat a piece before his meal. So, they brought those pies to the funeral and to mom's home later.My brothers, Tom & David.Little Leokadia brought much needed joy to mom's heart.A few other memorable moments from the week: Paige refusing to eat Ranch dressing because Papa had owned a ranch, working with my childhood friend, Leah, to choose and scan pictures for the slide show, Uncle Pat giving baby Leo a blessing at Tom & Katie's request, Ryan making a Diet Coke run after the funeral for those of us with crying-headaches, going out with the whole gang that night to sing karaoke (one of dad's favorite things) ...

It was a sad, happy, wonderful week. Just as dad would have wanted.