11 April 2010

where shall I set?

Yesterday, friends and family gathered to remember my Grandpa Jim, who crossed into eternity February 14, 2010.

The service opened with "The Lodge of Sorrows" ceremony by the Elks. After which my dad and my aunt shared. Before the closing slideshow, they opened the floor to anyone who wanted to share a memory. There were stories about hunting, stories about storms, many stories about working on cars and one extra special story about walking to school. Violet, grandpa's older sister, took the mike and shared this story:

"When Jim was just two-years old, he got diphtheria and was very sick. Afterwards, the doctor told us that he had developed a heart murmur. Mother worried for him. In time, we moved from the city to the country. Now, in the country, children didn't get driven to school, they had to walk. Our walk was a mile and a half. On Jim's first day of school, Mother was worried that the walk might tire him and told me to let him rest along the way. As we were walking, Jim needed to stop and rest. "Where shall I set, Violet?" he asked. I looked around and then answered, "On my feet." So I put my feet together, and he sat down on my shoes. After a while, he was ready to go on and walked the rest of the way to school. And that," she said, in true big sister fashion, "is why I have big feet!"

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