Monday, June 7th - ANOTHER day of visitors!

Mary was there early in the morning to be with Mom before she left for Seattle. I met Ryan and Bel there as Bel was officially taking care of me on Monday. Before Mary headed out for the long drive home, we looked at the funeral pictures on my computer with Mom. Mom cried through much of it but I would describe it as tears of gratitude. (The reality is that Mom, Mary and I all cried.) As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we just realized she had no memory of Dad’s funeral or the ensuing celebrations. While my pics were not great – they did include the whole weekend, from the dinner on Thursday night, to the funeral, the church reception, the party at the motel, and the Charbonneau Reception. I wish I had been able to video all of those special times, like when she would voice how much she appreciated seeing the people there. Mary was amazing at how she helped Mom be reflective about the good times and her blessings...

Below is a link to one small minute. It is emotional but I am sharing it because it really shows a 'healthy crying Mom." It starts out and we are looking at a picture of Dave Erickson and Mary tells the story of how she enjoyed hugging a ‘real’ Erickson. Mom then makes a comment about how wonderful it is and how it is all about Dad.... and then she quickly says, "And that's ok," to make sure we realized she was just lovingly saying "it was all about Dad." A poignant moment.

LINK TO VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUl0jd0rwcw

After Mary left, Bel and I went outside with Grandma…. It initially was a bit cold so we gave Mom some Bel medicine (Pic 1) and then bundled her up! (See pic 2).
Jimmy surprised us and joined us as we watched Bel get to know the playground equipment. He


stayed with Mom and Bel and I ran out and did errands.

Then Barb and Claire met us back at Riverview so Grandma had the best full day of visitors. Pat capped it off at the end of the day.