Sweet Child O' Mine

My poor, sweet, innocent KJ has had a very rough couple of days.  Cosmo's mother, KJ's grandmother, passed away early Friday morning after a long struggle.  She fought as hard as she could and I really think she was just waiting for all of her kids to be together.  Cosmo, his sister and his two brothers had all made it to NY in time to be with her and I believe she knew they were there.

Cosmo has been handling it well but KJ has had some breakdowns.  She is definitely my more sensitive child and this was her first grandparent to pass away and this was also her first funeral . . . she was was worried about her dad and she just didn't know what to expect or what was expected of her.  She had a LOT of questions about the viewing, the funeral, the cemetery, etc.

Earlier in the week, in an ironic twist, KJ's sweet friend Kim had invited her to a bingo fundraiser on Friday.  My mother-in-law LOVED bingo and regularly played at local churches and even played when she was in the hospital.  Not knowing that her Grandmother had just passed away, Kim texted KJ in the AM to see if they were still on for that evening.  Of course, KJ broke down over this but I encouraged her to go and try to have some fun.  I told her Grandma JoJo's luck may be with her!  Sure enough, she texted me that she had won 4 times!  Sweet, sweet KJ saved one of her winning bingo cards and put it in the casket with my mother-in-law.

KJ and I drove up to NY Saturday and made excellent time . . . lots of sunshine and 95 was blissfully clear!  Of course, the minute KJ saw Cosmo she broke down and cried and cried off and on Saturday night at my sister-in-law's house.  Sunday we woke to horrible, horrible weather . . . freezing rain, ice, fog.  Road conditions were horrendous and there was a 20-car pile-up on the Palisades.  The Outerbridge was closed and the Thruway and Parkway were awful.  Viewings were from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 PM.  I let her stay at my sister-in-law's house for the evening viewing and she helped baby-sit her much younger cousins.  It was a long day for everyone and Cosmo appreciated his good buddies B, Gunther and Drivas for making it to the viewing.  One of his friends from the Philly office somehow made it up (in a Porsche no less) and that meant so much to Cosmo.

Monday was bitter cold at the cemetery and again, my sweet KJ had a rough time.  The cemetery is always the hardest for me.  It's very final.