Final Roadtrip with Mom
I have to admit. This one is a little odd.
I mentioned in a previous post that my mom was a nut bar. And, even though Mom passed away in January 2018, she continues to make me do crazy things.
She always said she wanted to be cremated when she died, a request I was happy to honor. However, she had some other requests that I refused to comply with. For instance:
- FedEx her remains to all of her family so “everyone could take a scoop.”
- Have her ashes put into small vials to wear as a necklace. I’ve since found out that you can have ashes made INTO jewelry, but she wanted a vial that could break, then I’d have to explain why I was panicked and had “Mom” on my shirt
It’s taken me a long while to be ready to deal with Mom’s ashes. But I was going to Texas for a family reunion and felt it was time. That meant I was bringing Mom with me!
Now, Mom had this crazy obsession with penguin cookie jars with matching mugs. She had to have had 5+ sets. And, of course, I still have them.
So, in honor of Mom, I put her ashes into two of her cookie jars and headed to Texas.
My first stop was just outside of Austin, where my great aunt and uncle live. They were my dad’s aunt and uncle, but my mom was close to both of them. And they both loved that Mom came to visit one last time! They’re a little nuts like Mom was…
My next stop was near San Angelo, TX, where our family reunion was being held. She was one of 6 kids, and my grandmother was one of 12, so there were a lot of people there for Mom’s last reunion.
I gave my brother one of the jars so he could spread her ashes where he wanted. Then I took my penguin out to Eldorado, TX, which is where Mom grew up, and her parents were buried so that I could spread some of her ashes on her parents’ gravesite.
Both of her parents died when I was young, so I wasn’t aware of the dates of their deaths. My grandfather died on January 6, 1986. My grandmother died on January 14, 1989. I note this because my dad died on January 15, 2018. And my mom died on January 7, 2018. If you ever hear me mention that I hate the month of January, you now know why.
It’d been long enough that I was surprised exactly how difficult spreading her remains would be. It was a very emotional day.
I kept the penguin, but I know Mom would be happy to have some of her ashes spread with her mom and dad.
It was a wonderful and difficult trip. And one I know Mom would have appreciated!
Love you, Mom!
