A week ago – Kim made the call we were all dreading. Grandma Pat had passed away. She had been bed ridden for going on seven months now, while the cancer attacked her bones, brain and breasts. She was a fighter but this battle she couldn’t win.
My sister and I flew in from our respective corners of the country, Carly from Hawaii and I from DC. Dad and Kim were so excited to have the family back together he even made his 6 hour round trip to Los Angeles a day earlier! Oops.
The trip from DC wasn’t much smoother. After a 7 hour delay at JFK (the co-pilots window had a crack and rather than switch out the planes and get us home in time for the Mexican dinner I had planned, we sat while we waited for the glue to dry. After 7 hours they decided to switch the planes. Harrumph.)
No worries, Carly drove me through the Taco Fiesta on the way up the hill. Thank you Taco Fiesy for serving rolled tacos with guacamole at even the most heinous hours of the night, bringing the upper echelon together with drunk high-schoolers. That’s love.
The next day we spent remember grandma pat. Below are the notes I read to the 100 that had gathered graveside. Wearing a new sundress, I underestimated its coverage and my sister-in-law graciously tugged my ear to pull up my dress. Unfortunately I had already taken my place in front of the crowd. So while I made my introduction I crassly adjusted myself. While most would be appalled it seemed to break the ice. What an easy crowd ;-) Kim, Dad, and Carly on behalf of Aunt Pat delivered very moving speeches.
Among the many new faces that were touched by Grandma Pat – it was great to see some old friendly ones, like Uncle Bill, Aunt MeeMee and Dads lifelong friend Sue. We spent the rest of the bouncing between receptions hosted by their church in Ocean Beach and the family at Grandpa Dwayne’s.
It was a relief to finish the night watching AUSTRALIA. In case you were wondering…fantastic movie. A little long but worth the time.
After a wake up time rivaling that of my collegiate years, the four Richer kids bombarded Dad and Kim to recap the day. Then it was down the hill to spend some time with Mom and Goose. Running a hair late, I snuck into Church with Goose. And what is Church without a meal following. So we rallied the troops and overtook the back room at El Toritos. Goose, KB, Sina, Mom, Tony, Carly, Ben, Danielle, and I thoroughly terrified the waiter but had a great time nonetheless. Topic of conversation: Grandmas new patio.
The one thing my family is really fantastic at? Follow though. So we all piled into our respective trucks and headed over to check out the new patio. We even had uncle jeff come join us at the hot new venue. I love San Diego. It’s like the country only with a beach.
In celebration of Grandma’s new patio – and because my feet desperately needed it – I kidnapped Goose to get our feet done.
Then it was back to the Richer clan. The Richer four were meeting Dad, Kim, Grandpa Dwayne, Aunt Pat, and Krista for dinner on the embarcadero at the Elephant and Castle. Somehow the four of us have a tendency to make an entrance and tonight was no different. As dad called to check up on where we were (we were running a few minutes late) we answered him not over the phone but by shouting at him from across the street. After a few beers and fish and chips, we toasted grandma with a box of Milk chocolate chocolate Sees truffles. I bet that made her smile.
Now for the hour trip back to Ramona. Piling into dads 68 convertible Pony (Mustang) the radio is dead at best. So Carly and I created the classic rock station – belting anything from Journey to the entire Top Gun Soundtrack. We finished the night off in the big Dad/Kim bed watching Twilight.
In the meantime here's a little tickle. We had Andrew McMahon, singer for punk piano balladeers Something Corporate, to promote his new band Jack's Mannequin. Totally awesome musician but also a fellow Cali kid! Hailing from Orange County (translation: LA for you San Diego readers.) I can add him to my deck of art history buffs.
