The Unveiling

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So....we landed safely at FLL and went to the rental car agency to pick up our ride for the first 4 days of the trip. We managed to fit everything into the car as it had a pretty good sized trunk and then we started driving to my mother's house. It only took about an hour to get to West Palm Beach from the airport and it was great to see my mom. I hadn't seen her since last August. She was excited to see us too, and Shyanne was also very happy to see her.

I call my mom almost every day. She is 85 years old, but gets around very well on her own. She has little losses of memory here and there, but who over the age of ......Hmmmmmmmm.....don't remember what age that started...... I still like to check in as often as possible and make sure everything is OK with her.

Anyway, we spent four days with her. Friday was the day of my father's unveiling. For those of you who do not know what that is, it is a ceremony that Jewish people have to "unveil" the gravestone of the deceased. It is typically done at least 30 days after the burial of the loved one. It has to be done within one year, and most people wait closer to the one year to have the ceremony. That was part of the purpose of going to Florida at the start of the vacation.

My sister came in from Houston, and one of my nieces flew in from New York. There weer about a dozen of my mother's friends there as well. It is a short ceremony that gives us another chance to honor our loved one, and another chance to spend time with family and friends remembering the good times and the good person that we have lost.

Shyanne was very good during the ceremony. She is named for my mother-in-law and my father. It is customary in most sects of Judaism to name children for someone who has already passed away. Because of this most children never know the person who they are named for.

Shyanne is very special in that way. Since we had to wait for after adoption to convert her to Judaism and give her an official Hebrew name. she actually knew my father before she was named for him.

It is my hope she takes from him his wit and his wisdom. He was truly a good man.

Well, not nearly as jovial an entry as yesterday, but that's the way life is. Right now, I am happy to be sharing it with the people I have around me. I value all of them every day. My mother and sister. My nieces and nephews and my cousins. Most especially DW, Amy, Barry, Kari, and Shyanne.

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