another weird trip for mommy

I did something I have never done before. I made the decision to buy a plane ticket, bought a plane ticket, and left for the airport all within 2 hours. I didn't even know it was possible to buy a plane ticket on your way out the door to the airport without paying an extreme fortune.

As you can tell from my last post, my Grandpa Primmer died on Saturday morning. My mom called me at around 11am my time to tell me that it happened. The funeral was scheduled for Tuesday. With school starting Wednesday and having little time to plan a trip, I immediately thought that there was no way to do it. But, after looking at plane tickets for a couple of hours, David said "why don't you fly to Salt Lake tonight and then you can drive to Cedar City with your mom and sister tomorrow." Are you kidding, get on a plane tonight? What time does it leave? 5:30 and it's currently 1:00 and I live an hour drive from the airport? I can't make it. He says "why not? go pack your bag and get in the car." Then, I look at the return flight - I can't make it back to see Grace get on the bus on her first day of school. Again, "why not? the plane lands at 6:30 am. if you hurry out of the airport and drive straight home, you'll probably make it." IF the plane is on time. That's a big IF these days.

Plus, I was going to use Monday and Tuesday to get ready for school. David assures me that he'll take care of everything - just leave.

In an act of sheer desperation and confusion, I clicked the order button and bought the silly plane ticket that left me little more than 10 minutes time to think on either end of the trip. I packed my bag, threw some dirty clothes and a dress for the funeral in, and got in my car and drove to the airport. CRAZY! I cried all the way there for lots of reasons including disbelief at what I was doing. I am not spontaneous. I plan things. I never get up and do something I hadn't planned on doing for at least a day or two.

Well, after waking up in Massachusetts, I went to bed in Salt Lake at 2am, got up the next morning and drove to Cedar City with Mom, Melissa, and Sean and Kate. Even though we were on our way to the funeral for our favorite grandpa, we were glad to be together and had a fun time driving together.

We got to spend a good quality day with Grandma before all of the relatives started showing up. My little sisters flew in too. Emily came from Salt Lake with her dog and Jessica came in from Texas. I feel badly that my kids have only been back to see family once this year, but it's pretty cool that I've seen everyone twice this summer now by myself, even if the circumstances were grim. I have had a chance to really hang out with Melissa's kids and get to know them and spend time with Em and Jess.

(Grandma Elayne and little Kate Elayne)

Oh my, the relatives! It was quite a gathering. We have never all been together before. It was kind of sad actually. It would have thrilled my Grandpa to have all of us together at once and he missed it. Or did he? Maybe he was there and saw us all banding together as a family just for him. Grandpa was so proud of his grand-kids. He was so good to us. He was never without a smile or a tease. He was good to everyone really. I don't think he had a mean bone in his body or a mal-intention in his mind, ever. He treated Grandma like a queen too.

The funeral was small and simple and extremely nice. They had it in Cedar City's Rock Church, which is where my Grandparents go to church. That church is so beautiful. I wish I had taken a picture. Of course, it's made of local rock and has tons of natural wood inside too.
We spent the afternoon saying good-bye to people who were starting to drive home. Jessica drove me to Vegas that evening so we could both catch our flights home. We drove at sunset through Southern Utah and the corner of Arizona. It was gorgeous (even if a bit smoky from the huge wildfire in New Harmony) and reminded me how much I miss living in the desert. Hanging with Jess was a big bonus too. We never have one on one time. The 2.5 hour drive went by in a flash we had so much fun talking.

Got to Vegas, took a sleeping pill, and got on the plane home. The plane was on time, but the morning traffic home was pretty bad. I started to think I might not make it. But, I did make it home with a few minutes to spare to see Grace get on her bus for the first day of first grade. She didn't care so much that I got home in time, but I was so glad I did.