I've lost 1 great grandparent, 3 grandparents, 2 aunts , 2 uncles, 1 cousin, and have only been to 1 of their funerals. In the last year, I have been to two funerals for members of Tom's family. This post is about the more recent trip (this past May) to Illinois, for the funeral of Tom's uncle Craig.
I'm not much of a mourner. Funerals make me sad that I didn't get to know the person better, and I will cry if it was someone I felt close to, despite not knowing their life story. But personally, I feel that the whole gloomy-black wearing-weeping-depressed tradition flies in the face of everything we have been taught from birth, which is that they aren't really gone, they have just moved on to the next level. Of course, since I haven't lost an immediate family member or a spouse, my philosophy might be a bit naive, but for now, it's who I am.
Traditionally, funerals are a way to say goodbye to your loved one, but I feel that it really should be more of a celebration of their life. I have seen two very good examples of this celebration in the last year.
I also feel that if you have to travel to a funeral, make it a trip. That way you have some positive associations with the event. I feel sure that our loved ones who have passed would want us to enjoy our lives to the fullest, even when circumstances would seem such that we couldn't or shouldn't.
I also feel that if you have to travel to a funeral, make it a trip. That way you have some positive associations with the event. I feel sure that our loved ones who have passed would want us to enjoy our lives to the fullest, even when circumstances would seem such that we couldn't or shouldn't.
The pics I'm posting are of events/things that made this funeral/trip memorable for me :)
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| Just my honey |
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| And me.....no babies :) Getting ready for the funeral |
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| Dinner at the Tilted Kilt with Tom's parents and brother..... |
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| I had no idea that it was basically a Hooters with kilts....it just sounded like a fun place to eat :P |
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| The food was great though, and they had a live band that was also pretty good.... |
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| It ended up being a nice dinner :) |
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| At James W Baldwin Festival Park in Peoria |
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| My sweetie :) |
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| I'm glad there wasn't an emergency, cuz there was no way I was gonna reach in there to push that button! |
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| Check out the birds nest in the 2nd A above Tom's head ;) |
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| Steak 'n' Shake jalapeno burger: BEST BURGER EVER. |
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| Coming into Chicago |
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| The view from our hotel room |
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| Our presidential hotel ;) |
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| No trip is complete without a celebrity sighting....this is not a good picture, but I swear this guy looked just like Albert Einstein..... |
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| A stop at the HRC for lunch, and to get Tom a Tshirt..... |
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| This lovely al fresco eating area is brought to you by......... |
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| McDonalds. For real. |
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| This looked like a fun place to eat too...... |
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| Walking the trails at Lincoln Park |
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| Which was right across the street from our hotel :) |
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| Not deep dish, but seriously the best pizza I've ever eaten. |
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| Cool lamp in our room |
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| The stairs of the Hotel Lincoln |
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| Even the reception desk was super cool......look at all those old drawer fronts...wow...... |
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| Stopped at the RC for souvenirs for the kids.... |
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| The famous tracks.....wish I'd had more than 20 hours to look around this fascinating city! |
