A rambling account of the past two days

Well, after two consecutive nights of driving, I have returned home. I feel completely exhausted, but I wanted to write out the past couple days before I forget. My brothers and I left Thursday afternoon for Council Bluffs, Iowa. I enjoyed being the only girl among three boys because I could sit pretty in the car while they would do things like pack the trunk, fill the car with gas, and drive. It was also really nice just talking and visiting. The weather was pretty bad much of the night with lots of rain, hail, high winds, and supposedly some tornadoes. We even were pulled over by highway patrol at one point, but upon hearing that we were headed to our grandma's funeral, he let us go with just a warning. We arrived in Council Bluffs at 6am, giving us just a few short hours to sleep before heading to the funeral.

The funeral was sad. The lady in the casket did not look like my grandma, but when I saw my grandpa leaning over the coffin of the woman he had spent the last 59 years with, well, my heart just broke. After the funeral, we went out to the gravesite. I watched as my brothers and dad solemnly carried my grandmother's coffin. My heart was heavy and the tears flowed. But then, well, I can't really explain what happened next. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or the emotional toll of the day, but while the minister was speaking, my mind drifted to an image of my sister coming out of the bathroom with the back of her skirt tucked into her underwear. I could not stop the laughter so I just tried to cover my mouth and hope people assumed the shaking shoulders were due to sobs.
After the funeral, we went to eat at my grandma's church. It was so nice being with my family. I can't remember the last time it was just the core nine of us sitting around a table together. It was so great just laughing and talking and sharing memories of grandma.Then, we went back to my grandparents' house. It has been more than 7 years since I have been out there (it seemed they were always coming to us), but it looked exactly the same and my childhood memories of playing and exploring came flooding back. My sisters, aunts, mom, and I had the task of going through my grandmother's things and boxing them up. My grandma loved to shop and she had a lot of clothes, filling the closets of three different rooms. She also loved jewelry and everyone was able to pick a ring to remember her by.After much too short of time, my brothers and I piled back into the car and made the long, uneventful drive home. It was so nice coming home to a clean house (thanks to my fabulous husband) and an excited toddler. Ellie wrapped her arms tight around my neck and for the first time unprompted, she said "I love you."