Remembering Great-Grandpa M.

(Just a little note--the next 2 or 3 posts are dated when they happened, although I am just putting them in now. It's been a busy week for us.)

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Tonight our Church held a Memorial Mass for all of its parishioners who had passed away within the past year. Since that included my Grandpa Maurice (Andrea's Great-Grandpa), and we weren't able to attend his tree dedication ceremony at the end of September, we really wanted to attend this Mass.

I had qualms about bringing Andrea, knowing that it would be a solemn and reflective sort of service; but we couldn't find a babysitter. So, we brought her along. You can guess how that went. It wasn't that she was bad, or even very loud; the problem was, it was such an intensely sober and silent atmosphere (except for a few sniffles) that you could hear EVERY LITTLE SOUND SHE MADE echoing through the Church. I am not exaggerating. And I swear, for some reason, she got extra talkative when Grandma when up to light the candle in memory of Grandpa. I was SO embarrassed, and upset. Some people were looking around in curiosity, to see where the baby was; some people looked over their shoulders at us, with outright hostility; behind us, people were laughing! I was nudging Daddy and hissing, "Take her out!" but he wouldn't move. (Later, when we discussed it, he said, "She wasn't being bad!" and I said, "I know she wasn't being bad, but that's not the point . . . ")

Anyhow, there was a little get-together in the Church hall after the Service, and people were just talking about how cute she was, so I think they forgave us. The mood I was in, I still didn't know whether to laugh or cry over the incident (which Daddy still says was not an incident).

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After that, we all went back to Grandma's house to help set up her Christmas decorations. It was so great to be together with so many of the Maurices, especially on this night when we were remembering Grandpa. Sometimes it was kind of sad, because Grandma would say, "Grandpa used to do that" (in terms of arranging certain decorations), and we all thought of how much he loved these special celebrations.

But overall, it was a happy evening. Andrea kept us all entertained by showing off all her little talents (counting, saying words, singing, etc.), and she was amazingly well behaved, considering we were there until about 10:30 p.m.! She didn't cry at all, and she went from relative to relative, enjoying all the attention. Mommy's job was to keep Andrea out of the decorations, while Daddy helped put up the tree, and do the outdoor lights.

Andrea was particularly attracted to a snow globe which showed the Nativity scene. I held it for her, turned on the music, and shook the snow up; she was mesmerized. It was the most adorable thing. I wish you could have seen her face: how sweetly and intently she studied that snow globe, you know, with that childish wonder shining in her eyes. :))

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I don't know how else to describe it. It was an especially poignant night, with remembering and family and holiday fun all mixed in together. :))