Judy's Funeral

 

  I sadly had to take trip to DesMoines for Judy Kaufman’s funeral. I brought along my camera to document my trip. When I got there Saturday May 14th I saw Elle my granddaughter reading one of Dan Brown’s books the Da Vinci Code.

 

That evening my daughter Kristen took me out for dinner and a movie. After that long 5 hour drive from Chicago to Des Moines I was exhausted. I usually don’t go to bed early but this time I didn’t have a problem with it.

We all went to church Sunday morning and went out for breakfast afterwards. That evening we were supposed to have an eclipse of the moon so I got out my camera and took some photos. When it was fully eclipsed it turns red. They call it the blood moon.

 

 The next day was the funeral at 6pm. One of Kristen’s best friends, Kelly, came to town to stay with us for the funeral. I had made a video with all of the pictures I had of Judy. I had done an intro and put music to it. we all sat down and watched it before we went to the funeral home. I can't show you the whole video because the file is to big but I can show you the intro I did before the pictures of Judy started.

Before we left we all took pictures of one another. 

Kristen and Charles Brownell

                        

            Kris and her Dad Bill Kaufman

 

Kris and Kelly, Best Friends

 

Charles, Kris and Kelly

 

Kelly and her son Zaxton (Great People)

When we all got to the funeral home Charles stopped off at his father’s Grave.

 

 

 

Charles and my daughter Kristen have their plots right next to Charles father’s plot.

The next stop was the funeral home. I had my camera with me so I went into the parlor where Judy was laid out and took some pictures so those of you who couldn’t be there with us would know how she looked.

 

 

They did a good job of covering the black and blue marks where Judy fell and hit her head.

 

It was a weird feeling when I touched Judy’s face. Her skin was hard and felt like plaster. Of course I broke down and cried. Shawn was there and we both hugged and held onto one another for a while. All the great memories Judy and I had came flooding back into my head. It was hard. I am just glad I was able to be there with my son and daughter.  

 Soon everybody that was invited was there and the pastor gave a prayer service and talked for a while. Then he asked if anyone would like to come up and say a few words about Judy. Shawn was the first to start off and did a great job. He looked so handsome in his suit and tie. I told him, “You did a great job. You should be an executive.” Kristen didn’t want to say anything and I could see that nobody else was going to volunteer. I wasn’t going to go up there in front of a crowd and speak either but I knew I had to. I started out talking about “How Did We Meet.” Which I did on the intro of the video I did.

 When Planning the Funeral Kristen kept it down to the very close friends around 50 people. That gave her the option of having a dinner afterwards. This was the first time I ever had dinner in a funeral home. It turned out great. 

 

             The Brownell Family

 

Elle and her boyfriend. Elle is 21 now so will they tie the knot? We will have to wait and see.

After everything was over, we went back home. Kristen and Kelly made a couple of drinks and I joined them with my glass of water out on Kristen back porch. We had a wonderful time talking all night long. I looked at my watch and I couldn’t believe it was 2:00am in the morning.

  Kristen had planned on being at the cemetery at 10am the next day on Monday  to bury her Mom so I went along with her. It was just the two of us. That’s the way Kristen wanted it. Shawn called up sick with a fever so he couldn’t make it.

 

Kristen was lucky enough to find a plot right next to Judy’s parents at Chapel Hill Gardens, Des Moines, Iowa; Masonic Garden; Section: A, Lot: 293, Grave: 1.

 

Kris and I along with three other people from the funeral home lifted Judy out of the Hurst and carried it over to the grave. On the way I told Judy with a chuckle, “Judy you don’t weigh this much.” The Funeral home director said, “It’s the casket.” 

 

Kris didn’t plan on sticking around when they lowered the casket into the ground and I had to get going back to Chicago. I had a 5 hour trip ahead of me. I was so tired from everything that I couldn’t wait until I got back to my apartment. I thought a lot about Judy and I and all the good memories we had together. Tears welled up in my eyes quite a few times along the way but I made it back to my apartment.  

 

THINGS I DON”T WANT TO FORGET

THINGS I DON”T WANT TO FORGET

 

As Michelangelo once said: “What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?”

 

Be grateful for your gifts. They are all around you.

 

Everything that has a beginning has an end.

 

Fun is Fun

And

Done is Done

Nobody Lives Forever

But

We All Shine On

 

"If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die but real love is forever."

 

"In the Cosmos there is no refuge from change."

 

"Let me not seem to have lived in vain."

 

“Never, Never, Never take No for an answer from somebody that doesn't have the power to say Yes in the first place.”

 

There are two Wolves

And they are always fighting

One is Darkness and Despair

The other is Light and Hope

Which Wolf wins?

Answer: Whichever one you feed.

 

Someday, Someday my dream will come. One night you’ll wake up and you’ll discover it never happened. It’s all turned around on you. It never will. Suddenly you are old. Didn’t happen. It never will because you were never going to do it anyway. You’ll push it into memory, then zone out in your Barcalounger being hypnotized by daytime TV for the rest of your life.

 

SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL, FAILURE IS NOT FATAL

IT IS THE COURGE TO CONTINUE THAT COUNTS

WINSTON CHURCHILL

 

 

THIS IS RIGHT ON THE NOSE. .......READ IT SLOWLY... I DON'T KNOW WHO WROTE IT, BUT I AM GUESSING IT WAS A SENIOR!!! I FIRST STARTED READING THIS AND WAS READING FAST UNTIL I REACHED THE THIRD SENTENCE. I STOPPED AND STARTED OVER READING SLOWER AND THINKING ABOUT EVERY WORD. THIS IS VERY THOUGHT-PROVOKING. MAKES YOU STOP AND THINK.

AND THEN IT IS WINTER You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.

It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams. But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like. But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting grey...they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me...but, I see the great change....Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!

But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it's NOT over. A new adventure will begin!

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not in your winter yet...let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!

Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!

"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one.

LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY TODAY! DO SOMETHING FUN! BE HAPPY! HAVE A GREAT DAY!