I wake up dreading what this day brings with it. We’re all supposed to meet Uncle M and his family in Willow Creek to lay ma to rest. I sometimes can’t even believe that she’s gone – or maybe I just don’t want to believe it. Either way, this day will be challenging for all of us.
We decide that driving to Willow Creek would be best, so we leave the house early and arrive several hours later. Everything is ready when we arrive, but it is freezing outside. We bundle up as best we can and make our way to the back corner of the cemetery, where there’s space for ma’s urn and her memorial service.
Although ma has art students and other people who probably would have attended her funeral, we decided to keep it small with only the immediate family. I think ma would have been happy with that. We also decide that we’d skip the formal eulogies and instead share our memories of her. So I start us off by stepping up first.
Kai: There are so many things that I could say about my mother. She was intelligent, talented, beautiful, and loved by everyone who met her. But – you all already know that. As a parent, she wasn’t perfect. None of us are. My mother raised me alone, but you all know that too. Essentially she was both mother and father to me. I stand up here thinking about her last words to me. She apologized and told me that I was the best thing to happen to her and that she wished she could have given me a better childhood. And I just stood there, not saying nearly enough. I’d give anything to have that moment back.
Kai: *continues* So ma– if you’re somewhere in sim heaven looking down at us – I want you to know that I had a fantastic childhood. I apologize if I ever gave you the impression that I didn’t – that just having you wasn’t enough. I had the best mother in the world. I want you to know that. I love you and miss you every moment and would give anything to hug you one more time. You were the best thing to happen to me too!
Me-Me steps up next and talks about how ma moved in with us when Dub was just a baby.
Melisa: She was a tremendous help to us. I don’t think I could have returned to work if…she wasn’t there. Peri was the perfect mother-in-law, never overstepping but still managing to tell me exactly what I needed to hear. She was not just an in-law to me. She was also a friend. Peri, you are loved and will be missed.
Uncle M is the last to get up and speak.
Merit: Peri was a teenager by the time I was born, so we weren’t close growing up. I don’t think she wanted to have much to do with me at the time. But Peri did give me something very important – my name. Although she often told me that she didn’t mean for our parents to take the name seriously. She said she picked it from her homework – a vocabulary list. *chuckles* My sister had a sense of humor. *suddenly very serious* But we did get close as we aged. She was there for me when I needed her, and I was there for her in return. I miss you, big sis. You had a smile and spirit that could light up a room. *emotional* The world will be much dimmer without you.
After everyone has spoken, I carefully move ma’s urn to its reserved spot in the family tomb, next to my gran and pop-pop. I feel an overwhelming loss as I stand there staring at her picture. The rest of the family enters behind me and joins me in front of ma’s picture.
Mason: Is this where gran will sleep now? Alone? All by herself?
I move over a few steps and stand before my gran’s urn.
Kai: She’s not by herself, son. This is your great-gran, Alida Banks, and your pop-pop, Quincy Wade Jr. They are your gran’s parents, and they will look after her now.
That seems to satisfy Mase, but only for a moment. Then, he turns and looks at all the empty pedestals around the room, as I did once upon a time. I can imagine that he’s thinking the same thing I thought when I came here when I was younger and saw them.
Mason: But, daddy, what happens with all the empty spaces? Who will sleep on those?
I take a deep breath, giving myself a moment to come up with an answer that my son will accept.
Kai: Those are for our family. We will all rest together one day, so none of us will be alone.
I don’t know if my words will give Mase comfort or add to his dread, but I hope for the former as I walk over to Uncle M and hug him.
I chat with Uncle M for a bit, asking if they’ve decided to stay the night here in town. He tells me that they’ve decided to head back home as soon as they leave here. And I reveal our plans to visit Me-Me’s family, who lives in the next town.
Kai: We’ll get a room for the night so that the kids can rest. Then we’ll drive back first thing in the morning.
He agrees that that’s probably a good idea.
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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