The Funeral

Today was Bruce Rick's funeral.  Ryan did take a day off work, and I kept the kids home from school.  Ryan was asked to be one of the pall bearers.  Ryan was at the church before 9 am and stayed until about 4 pm.  He stayed with Bruce in the Relief Society room for the viewing until Jeanie and family arrived.  I arrived with the kids and my offering for the luncheon afterwards about 10 am.  We knew it was going to be a full house, and if you wanted a "comfy" seat (the pews cannot really be called comfortable unless contrasted with folding metal chairs) then you were going to have to be early.  So we staked out seats and went through for the viewing.  Someone had been really sweet and brought glow sticks for the kids in honor of Bruce, as that is always what he handed out at Halloween.  And sometimes at church when he was Bishop.

It was a beautiful service, and there were plenty of laughs and plenty of tears.  And then we were part of one of the longest funeral processions to the cemetery I have ever seen in our small town.  He would have gotten a kick out of how many lights we got to "run" and how long we stopped traffic.  Bruce was not known for following traffic laws well.

And then he was laid to rest.

 After the cemetery, we took the kids through a drive-thru for lunch and dropped Annie and Maddie off at school for their Halloween parties.  Emma and Elizabeth stayed and we attended the luncheon afterward.  Then I let some of the Ricks' grandkids have pumpkins from our pumpkin patch and then realized that Oh No It's Friday.  Elizabeth has piano lessons on Fridays, and that happens in TWO MINUTES.  So we were a little bit late.  Then I rushed back to pick up the twins from school, and then back to the church to help finish cleaning up after the funeral, and then back to pick up Elizabeth from piano.  Meanwhile I was carrying a vase of flowers Jeanie had given us from the funeral in my van.  Which spilled on one of the last corners taking the kids home after picking Elizabeth up from piano.  Some days, life is like that.

Listening to people talk at funerals generally makes me feel pretty inadequate.  I'm pretty sure when I die, people will say I was quiet and sometimes nice, and that will be it.  Today definitely left me feeling like I need to step up my game.  I fall so short of the goal.  But also thankful that I was able to know Bruce Ricks, and how he left the world a better place.