I responded to over 100 different e-mails yesterday of people expressing their sorry and prayers for my Mom. We came home to a fruit basket and lots of flowers. We've had friends from church volunteer to bring dinner this week and Jess and some of the girls from her bible study are coming over tonight to watch the kids while Cathie and I go out and get some time together and received a bunch of cards and phone calls from friends just to check and see how we're doing.
Maybe everyone gets this, but I continue to be blown away at the way our friends have supported us in all of this. It makes me feel pretty selfish when I think back to what I haven't offered up in the past when people around me have been hurting in the past. I had no idea that some of these small things could offer so much joy.
I'm also so thankful for my beautiful wife, Cathie. She gave me the opportunity to drop everything last week so I could spend the week with my Mom (Thank you Lori for that wonderful advice!). Cath dealt with everything in the peripheral so I could focus on spending time with my Mom and did it all with such a kindness and joy. Meanwhile, she made five trips back and forth to Dewitt to make runs for clothes, kids and to be there for me and to visit with my Mom.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Work
After being out of pocket last week and part of this week, I jumped back into work full bore starting Tuesday night. I cranked through about 300 e-mails and started Wednesday morning with a day filled with back to back conference calls start at 8 and ending around 6, non-stop with no breaks. The focused work has been a good distraction for me after having such an intense week with my family. It makes for an easier transition into the real world.
I'm working late tonight to try get things ready for a meeting in I've got in Europe next week. I leave Saturday for London via Amsterdam and come back Wednesday night. We were supposed to be on vacation this week and we were able to reschedule our vacation to the week of October 21st so I'm trying to get all sorts of things prior to this time out of the office. The good news is, I'm catching up on the past couple weeks of episodes of the show Lost and other shows while I'm getting things done.
I'm working late tonight to try get things ready for a meeting in I've got in Europe next week. I leave Saturday for London via Amsterdam and come back Wednesday night. We were supposed to be on vacation this week and we were able to reschedule our vacation to the week of October 21st so I'm trying to get all sorts of things prior to this time out of the office. The good news is, I'm catching up on the past couple weeks of episodes of the show Lost and other shows while I'm getting things done.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Mom's Impact
I ran across this blog post that of someone I've never met that my Mom's life impacted in a good way.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
One Awesome Sangwich
Cathie and I went to Amer's Mediterranean Deli in Brighton for lunch. I'd heard great things about the locations in Ann Arbor and when we stopped in there were at least 100 different sandwiches to choose from. I asked the guy behind the counter was great and he told me all about Flafel (Deep Fried Chick-Peas). I'd never had it, but figured I'd give it a shot. He told me to trust him and he'd make me an awesome sandwich. He brought me out a #77 Flafel on an onion role with Avacado. It was the greatest sangwich ever. Wars could be fought over this sandwich. I am in love (with the sandwich, not the deli guy) and will be back frequently.
My Blog - Getting Closure
I've been using my blog over the past week or so as a journal on what's gone on with my Mom. I've probably shared more information that people care to hear, but I did it primarily so I could remember the whole situation - my thoughts, our laughter, our sorry, our stories with a clarity that my memory doesn't always give me. I took pictures of my Mom and my family as we hung out together by her bed-side. Again, this might seem weird to some and others would say, "Why remember her in such a weakened state?" It sounds strange, but my Mom radiated this amazing beauty as she lay there, and i don't want to forget that. Her body was wasting away, but she had something deep inside that showed.
Blogging was cathartic for me. I was able to take a step back from everything going on, process it, write it down and sit in it for a while. It also saved me from having to tell everyone outside of the situation what was going on. They were able to read what was going on and be a part of it to the degree they wanted to. As I said before, the Kurt family is inclusive, even in our sorrow. There's lots of detail I held back, but for the most part, it's enough of a picture that I can re-read it and re-live the experience when I need help remembering.
Throughout this whole process, thousands of people prayed for my mom. Literally thousands. I know God is sovereign. I get that for the most part. What I didn't get was how he could ignore so many prayers and not be moved by their sheer multitude. On Saturday night while talking to my cousins Jodi and Connie, I think I started to understand. They told me the story of my Uncle Jack, their Dad, and his battle with pancreatic cancer. They discovered his cancer in the beginning of October and he was gone by the end of the month. My cousins shared with me the excruciating pain my uncle was in at the end because of his cancer. What a contrast to the eleven months we had with my Mom and the peaceful way she passed, spending the hours and hours together by her bedside laughing and telling stories. We wanted a huge miracle for my Mom. I always thought we didn't get it. Maybe we did. Just different miracles than we'd hoped for.
Blogging was cathartic for me. I was able to take a step back from everything going on, process it, write it down and sit in it for a while. It also saved me from having to tell everyone outside of the situation what was going on. They were able to read what was going on and be a part of it to the degree they wanted to. As I said before, the Kurt family is inclusive, even in our sorrow. There's lots of detail I held back, but for the most part, it's enough of a picture that I can re-read it and re-live the experience when I need help remembering.
Throughout this whole process, thousands of people prayed for my mom. Literally thousands. I know God is sovereign. I get that for the most part. What I didn't get was how he could ignore so many prayers and not be moved by their sheer multitude. On Saturday night while talking to my cousins Jodi and Connie, I think I started to understand. They told me the story of my Uncle Jack, their Dad, and his battle with pancreatic cancer. They discovered his cancer in the beginning of October and he was gone by the end of the month. My cousins shared with me the excruciating pain my uncle was in at the end because of his cancer. What a contrast to the eleven months we had with my Mom and the peaceful way she passed, spending the hours and hours together by her bedside laughing and telling stories. We wanted a huge miracle for my Mom. I always thought we didn't get it. Maybe we did. Just different miracles than we'd hoped for.
Our Savior Link
Last Sunday, Sherry's Pastor's sermon talked about my Mom in terms of her relationship with Jesus and the peace in which she died because of that relationship. Next week at their church is "Bring a friend to church Sunday" and he summed the message up by saying something to the effect of "Who do you know that doesn't know what Lynn knew?"
We met Pastor Maier at the Relay for Life where he walked with my Mom and Dad and family. He visited her on one of the last days of her life as well.
My blog and Susan's blog even made Our Savior Lutheran's web site (in a good way) as we journaled through the events of this past week.
Post Funeral
After the funeral we went back to my parents, changed and hung out. It was a little strange having all of these black Cadillac Sedans from the funeral home caravaning through the neighborhood and dropping us off at my Dad's house.
We were all looking forward to giving Sherry a gift that we'd bought as a family for Sherry. In my Mom's last days, we asked her what her favorite "Sherry memory" was. Even though there are a million, my Mom's favorite, and one of our families favorite was when Sherry was picking up a National Speaker for an event at the Lansing airport to head to my parent's house in Okemos. She called my Mom from Grand Rapids, an hour in the opposite direction. Sherry has zero sense of direction and frequently calls the family for directions to places she's been a million times. We love her for this. It's part of what makes Sherry, Sherry.
My Dad started things off saying in a pretty serious way, "Sherry, the phone calls for directions just have to stop." Pause. We presented her with a Garmin Car GPS system. We hooked it up for her and took her for a ride, showing her how it works. Sherry was most impressed that it didn't shame her for making a wrong term, instead just saying "re-calculating". She loved it and we were all excited for her. This will give her back hours in the day from getting lost and hundreds of dollars in gas.
Update: I talked to Sherry today and she was raving about how it worked for her. She told me how she used it to get to Subway, but when she left, it kept routing her back to Subway. She said it only took five minutes for her to figure out that's what it was doing. When I set it up with the address to my Dad's house, I must have programmed it for their neighbors. My parents in on the right, there house is on the left. Jon told Sherry how proud he was that she didn't turn into their house, but went to the right place, even though the GPS told her differently.
We headed over to Cathie's parents to pick up the kids. One of their neighbors had seen Cathie's family getting out of the car in black and proceeded to bring a gigantic chicken dinner for everyone. Again, people's kindness and generosity just blow me away.
Looking back on the past week with my family, I would count it as one of the saddest, but one of the best weeks in my life. I had a chance to spend such an intense with my whole family non-stop. For some people, that would be considered hell. For me, it was fantastic. We laughed together, cried together and told stories together. We never fought, never argued. We consoled each other, shared tough times and loved each other in a way I'll never forget.
We were all looking forward to giving Sherry a gift that we'd bought as a family for Sherry. In my Mom's last days, we asked her what her favorite "Sherry memory" was. Even though there are a million, my Mom's favorite, and one of our families favorite was when Sherry was picking up a National Speaker for an event at the Lansing airport to head to my parent's house in Okemos. She called my Mom from Grand Rapids, an hour in the opposite direction. Sherry has zero sense of direction and frequently calls the family for directions to places she's been a million times. We love her for this. It's part of what makes Sherry, Sherry.
My Dad started things off saying in a pretty serious way, "Sherry, the phone calls for directions just have to stop." Pause. We presented her with a Garmin Car GPS system. We hooked it up for her and took her for a ride, showing her how it works. Sherry was most impressed that it didn't shame her for making a wrong term, instead just saying "re-calculating". She loved it and we were all excited for her. This will give her back hours in the day from getting lost and hundreds of dollars in gas.
Update: I talked to Sherry today and she was raving about how it worked for her. She told me how she used it to get to Subway, but when she left, it kept routing her back to Subway. She said it only took five minutes for her to figure out that's what it was doing. When I set it up with the address to my Dad's house, I must have programmed it for their neighbors. My parents in on the right, there house is on the left. Jon told Sherry how proud he was that she didn't turn into their house, but went to the right place, even though the GPS told her differently.
We headed over to Cathie's parents to pick up the kids. One of their neighbors had seen Cathie's family getting out of the car in black and proceeded to bring a gigantic chicken dinner for everyone. Again, people's kindness and generosity just blow me away.
Looking back on the past week with my family, I would count it as one of the saddest, but one of the best weeks in my life. I had a chance to spend such an intense with my whole family non-stop. For some people, that would be considered hell. For me, it was fantastic. We laughed together, cried together and told stories together. We never fought, never argued. We consoled each other, shared tough times and loved each other in a way I'll never forget.
Mom's Funeral
Yesterday was my Mom's funeral. Ugh. It was hard. Really hard, starting with walking in the church. It proceeded to be a series of hard moments, mixed with small moments of joy in between. There were so many people at the funeral to the point that it was standing room only in the church. I saw a baby sitter from 30 years ago who had heard, friends from church, friends from work (including my boss, John, who gets the award for traveling the furthest distance. He flew up from NC to be at my Mom's funeral). All of our spouse's extended families came from all over. People really made big sacrifices to be there, like Ed & Stacy who were in different states, re-routed their plans, met up together and bought clothes when they got here. This is just one of a lot of stories of people who made a huge effort to be there because my Mom was special to them.
Walking into the sanctuary started my tears going and they kept coming. The funeral started with bagpipes, which I love. We had them at my Grandpa's funeral and my Great Grandma's funeral (both being natively from Scotland) and I love the sound of them, but it was sad to hear them. I overheard my 5 year old Emily behind me after the bagpipe player finished: "Wow, I'm glad that's done", which made me smile.
I was selected as the mouth of the family to eulogize my Mom (I'm sure my siblings meant mouthpiece, but they kept saying I was the "mouth" of the family. Go figure). I shared what an abundant life my Mom had and how it radiated from her in how she loved babies, loved the people around her, love stories, loved to celebrate, and loved God in a mighty way. I made it through most of it without crying. Her amazing life made it so easy to share her story. Most of all, I know that my Mom would have wanted people to know that she was not able to pour out her life the way she did without having a firm foundation and the love of God constantly pouring into her, so I shared that.
We joked with my Dad that this was the best our family has ever been in church. Typically on Christmas Eve, the whole family goes together, taking up 2 rows at my Mom's church. An average Christmas service at St. Luke involves us poking each other, whispering back and forth, mocking each other and trying to burn each other and their church program during the candle light portion of the service.
My Mom's pastor, Pastor Dave Davis shared a very cool sermon about my Mom as a leader in the world around her. As a side note, I've gotta say that I don't know a ton of Lutheran Pastors, but this guy rocked. I'd seen him before at Christmas at my Mom's church, but first met him when he was at my Grandma's visiting her. He had a sense of humor, great counsel and was very moved by by Mom's loss. If I was going to a Lutheran church, it'd be his.
At the end, we moved the casket out into the car. My friends Will, Noel and Mike and three of Sherry's four boys: Adam, Bill and Nate. Again, another tear-jerking moment in the process. We headed back in for a luncheon and got a chance to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in years and hear some more great stories on my Mom and catch up with people that I hadn't seen in forever. I saw one of my brother's friends who I knew from Campus Life that became a Catholic Priest who's now in Ann Arbor (I pumped him to see if he was part of the DaVinci Code Conspiracy) and looks like Friar Tuck - complete with beard and hair. It was good to catch up, but the circumstances to do it sucked.
We headed over to the graveyard for the burial. The last step in the process. Pastor Davis said a few words, we prayed and then said our tearful goodbyes. It was a very intimate setting and one of the first times I'd been in this situation at a cemetery. We all took roses from the casket, hugged and stood there silently for a minute. As we stood around the casket, I whispered to my Dad, "I'll be Mom would think it was funny if I stood in front of her casket and sung The Gambler acapella while Dan and Jon did the motions." We laughed together and then headed home.
Noel snapped this picture of my middle-daughter, Maddie, looking underneath the casket, and I later looked as well.
Walking into the sanctuary started my tears going and they kept coming. The funeral started with bagpipes, which I love. We had them at my Grandpa's funeral and my Great Grandma's funeral (both being natively from Scotland) and I love the sound of them, but it was sad to hear them. I overheard my 5 year old Emily behind me after the bagpipe player finished: "Wow, I'm glad that's done", which made me smile.
I was selected as the mouth of the family to eulogize my Mom (I'm sure my siblings meant mouthpiece, but they kept saying I was the "mouth" of the family. Go figure). I shared what an abundant life my Mom had and how it radiated from her in how she loved babies, loved the people around her, love stories, loved to celebrate, and loved God in a mighty way. I made it through most of it without crying. Her amazing life made it so easy to share her story. Most of all, I know that my Mom would have wanted people to know that she was not able to pour out her life the way she did without having a firm foundation and the love of God constantly pouring into her, so I shared that.
We joked with my Dad that this was the best our family has ever been in church. Typically on Christmas Eve, the whole family goes together, taking up 2 rows at my Mom's church. An average Christmas service at St. Luke involves us poking each other, whispering back and forth, mocking each other and trying to burn each other and their church program during the candle light portion of the service.
My Mom's pastor, Pastor Dave Davis shared a very cool sermon about my Mom as a leader in the world around her. As a side note, I've gotta say that I don't know a ton of Lutheran Pastors, but this guy rocked. I'd seen him before at Christmas at my Mom's church, but first met him when he was at my Grandma's visiting her. He had a sense of humor, great counsel and was very moved by by Mom's loss. If I was going to a Lutheran church, it'd be his.
At the end, we moved the casket out into the car. My friends Will, Noel and Mike and three of Sherry's four boys: Adam, Bill and Nate. Again, another tear-jerking moment in the process. We headed back in for a luncheon and got a chance to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in years and hear some more great stories on my Mom and catch up with people that I hadn't seen in forever. I saw one of my brother's friends who I knew from Campus Life that became a Catholic Priest who's now in Ann Arbor (I pumped him to see if he was part of the DaVinci Code Conspiracy) and looks like Friar Tuck - complete with beard and hair. It was good to catch up, but the circumstances to do it sucked.
We headed over to the graveyard for the burial. The last step in the process. Pastor Davis said a few words, we prayed and then said our tearful goodbyes. It was a very intimate setting and one of the first times I'd been in this situation at a cemetery. We all took roses from the casket, hugged and stood there silently for a minute. As we stood around the casket, I whispered to my Dad, "I'll be Mom would think it was funny if I stood in front of her casket and sung The Gambler acapella while Dan and Jon did the motions." We laughed together and then headed home.
Noel snapped this picture of my middle-daughter, Maddie, looking underneath the casket, and I later looked as well.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Jesus is with you....Always?
We came home to a lawn mowed by friends from church and our neighbors and a mysterious guest in my bathroom. On top of the toilet was this figurine of Jesus and a note: 'Lo, I am with you always.' And I thought I had a shy bladder before.....
Post Visitation Bar Fight
After the visitation, we went to bar in town for beers with my cousins from Iowa Jodi and Connie. Now in order to understand Connie and Jodi, you have to understand where they came from. My Dad grew up in a small town in Iowa - and I mean a small town. We loved going there as kids and hanging out on the farms and in downtown Bellevue, staying at my Grandma's house. In order to get us out of the house, my Dad would give us a few bucks and my brothers and I would walk up to the local store where they would ask us, "Who do you belong to?", meaning they knew we weren't local and they wanted to know our lineage. We'd let them know we were Raymond Kurt's son Jim's kids and they'd in turn share a story of how they knew my Dad, Grandpa or other relative. Our visits would actually make the local paper. We always got a kick out of the fact that everyone in Bellevue loved to sit in their garages in lawn chairs and watch the world go by in the evenings. You had to drive with one hand on top of the steering wheel in order to wave at every person you knew who drove by.
We'd make the eight hour trek to Iowa 3 or 4 times a year as kids, and now once a year for our family reunion. As we've gotten older, we've come to appreciate our cousins even more and really look forward to these get togethers. Connie and Jodi are farm girls, who my Mom loved dearly. We also ride them pretty hard about being from the sticks - until they came to Dewitt, MI for my Mom's funeral.
After the visitation, we invited them out for a beer at the local bar in town, Relli's. My Dad and the rest of my siblings and their spouses were all there along with Connie and Jodi, hanging out eating and drinking. Right in front of us, a bar fight breaks out - and we had front row seats for it. We sat there pretty amused watching the whole thing, except my cousin Jodi who tried to jump in. (She could have whooped them all. She's an Iowa farm girl after all).
The cops got there pretty quickly so I nonchalantly tried to get a picture of the whole thing. The bartender apologized and bought us all a round of drinks. Never a dull moment.
We stayed for a while, laughing hard and catching up, sharing stories about my Mom and other things. It was excellent. I just learned that my cousin Jodi was the number one sales person for all of Mary Kay, complete with Pink Cadillac and a gargantuan "diamond" ring from Mary Kay for the accomplishment.
We've got our family reunion coming up next year in Iowa and the theme is bib-overalls and farm hats. We can't wait.
Mom's Visitation
The visitation yesterday was strange. I've always been on the visitor side of things and it was strange to be the one people were visiting. I didn't really know what to do except stand around talk to people as they came in. I gave up trying to figure out whether to hug people or shake hands. It seemed every time I extended a hand to shake, people went for the hug, so I just defaulted to the hug. My Dad had a continual line of people waiting to talk to him and share how much my Mom meant to them.
So many people came to see my family. People I hadn't seen in forever. I saw old neighbors, co-workers of my Mom's, friends from church and people whose life she had touched in one way or another. My Mom had this way of making people feel special when she would meet them. She was so genuine and comfortable with who she was and so interested in everyone around her. She had a memory a mile long and remembered the smallest details about everyone there and ask you about those things 10 years later to see how you were with them. I heard so many wonderful stories of the way my Mom touched people's lives. I'm so proud of how she lived her life. I'm so proud to be her son and to call her my Mom. I hope my funeral is half of what my Mom's is.
Cathie and I were so touched by the friends of ours that made the trek from South Lyon. We had neighbors and a teacher come, along with a huge crew from our church. I had a number of current youth group kids, old youth group kids who've since grown up, friends and families all come and love us. Some had met my Mom, but most hadn't. My church showed up because they care about Cathie and I, and our grief is there grief, our loss is their loss. Their pain for us and their kind words healed my heart. It's tough for me to get that people care this much. Family after family from church made the hour plus drive to see us, just because they love us and wanted to show it in a tangible way. Wow. We had over 60 friends show up from South Lyon. It makes me feel pretty selfish at times as I've been too lazy or didn't want to be inconvenienced to attend a funeral or visitation. My brother Jon was very excited to see an elderly (she's 88 now) neighbor that he had a pretty significant crush on, making the whole event very special for him.
The whole visitation was incredibly draining, but really wonderful in a weird way. After the first two hours, we went home, I took a quick nap and we went back at it again. There were times as people shared things with me I would start to cry as the memories came forward and other times I laughed at the stories, hearing new aspects of my Mom that made me smile. I know people who are tremendously successful in business, make a fortune, have all kinds of power yet never change the world or impact people around them in a significant way. When I die, I hope to have a visitation that is half the celebration of life that my Mom's was.
So many people came to see my family. People I hadn't seen in forever. I saw old neighbors, co-workers of my Mom's, friends from church and people whose life she had touched in one way or another. My Mom had this way of making people feel special when she would meet them. She was so genuine and comfortable with who she was and so interested in everyone around her. She had a memory a mile long and remembered the smallest details about everyone there and ask you about those things 10 years later to see how you were with them. I heard so many wonderful stories of the way my Mom touched people's lives. I'm so proud of how she lived her life. I'm so proud to be her son and to call her my Mom. I hope my funeral is half of what my Mom's is.
Cathie and I were so touched by the friends of ours that made the trek from South Lyon. We had neighbors and a teacher come, along with a huge crew from our church. I had a number of current youth group kids, old youth group kids who've since grown up, friends and families all come and love us. Some had met my Mom, but most hadn't. My church showed up because they care about Cathie and I, and our grief is there grief, our loss is their loss. Their pain for us and their kind words healed my heart. It's tough for me to get that people care this much. Family after family from church made the hour plus drive to see us, just because they love us and wanted to show it in a tangible way. Wow. We had over 60 friends show up from South Lyon. It makes me feel pretty selfish at times as I've been too lazy or didn't want to be inconvenienced to attend a funeral or visitation. My brother Jon was very excited to see an elderly (she's 88 now) neighbor that he had a pretty significant crush on, making the whole event very special for him.
The whole visitation was incredibly draining, but really wonderful in a weird way. After the first two hours, we went home, I took a quick nap and we went back at it again. There were times as people shared things with me I would start to cry as the memories came forward and other times I laughed at the stories, hearing new aspects of my Mom that made me smile. I know people who are tremendously successful in business, make a fortune, have all kinds of power yet never change the world or impact people around them in a significant way. When I die, I hope to have a visitation that is half the celebration of life that my Mom's was.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Gratefulness
I hate to use churchy words like "blessed", but I don't know any other way to described the way people have taken care of my family in this whole process. I think a better word is "ridiculous", in a mouth gaping open, stunned kind of way that people have poured out kindness and grace. Over the past 11 months, people have done amazing things and have continued to go over and above over the past week. I never really understood why people brought food to people in times like this, but I now get it. We've had lots of family here at my Dad's (it strange not to say Mom and Dad's house) house and neighbors, family and friends have brought food over non-stop. I'm pretty sure I've put on about 10 lbs this week. The last thing you want to do in these times is to cook, clean and run out for food. My Mom got this kind of stuff. She was always the kind of person to bring food, gifts, notes or an offer of help to someone else.
I remember back 11 years ago when Cathie and I had a series of miscarriages. Prior to that, i didn't really get how significant of an event a miscarriage could be in someone's life. It sounds ignorant, but I didn't get how tough it is to lose a parent, and I didn't get how wonderful things like notes, food and kind words can lift your spirits when you're going through stuff like this.
I remember back 11 years ago when Cathie and I had a series of miscarriages. Prior to that, i didn't really get how significant of an event a miscarriage could be in someone's life. It sounds ignorant, but I didn't get how tough it is to lose a parent, and I didn't get how wonderful things like notes, food and kind words can lift your spirits when you're going through stuff like this.
Saturday
Yesterday was a weird day. My Dad, brothers and I had to go and talk to my Grandma about my Mom's death. Cathie and I went to talk to our kids also. Yesterday was Gabe's birthday and we wanted to make sure it remained special. Kevin and I took the kids to see the movie Open Season and then went to the Park for pizza.
Even in the midst of sadness, there was joy.
And rest.
And cleaning.
Last night, Jon, Beth, Dan, Dad, Will, Monaca, Kevin and I all went to the local Irish pub for a beer. We all waited with anticipation to see how Will ordered his beer. Will has been to Ireland, and with that comes a special belief that by entering an Irish pub in the US he will magically be transported to Ireland. Anytime we go to an Irish pub, Will orders a Guinness by asking for a "pint" just like in Ireland. We all held our breath as the waitress asked the question that we all hoped she would: "A pint of what?" The whole family busted up.
Even in the midst of sadness, there was joy.
And rest.
And cleaning.
Last night, Jon, Beth, Dan, Dad, Will, Monaca, Kevin and I all went to the local Irish pub for a beer. We all waited with anticipation to see how Will ordered his beer. Will has been to Ireland, and with that comes a special belief that by entering an Irish pub in the US he will magically be transported to Ireland. Anytime we go to an Irish pub, Will orders a Guinness by asking for a "pint" just like in Ireland. We all held our breath as the waitress asked the question that we all hoped she would: "A pint of what?" The whole family busted up.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Jon and Beth save the day
When it rains, it pours. Remember my earlier scooter picture? My 88 year old grandma was riding it today, ran into the wall and broke her ankle. Dr Jon and Dr. Beth came to the rescue and took her in to get it fixed and Jon saw fit to make us all laugh by sending this picture from the doctor's office. Jon is wearing an X-Ray protector thingy on his groinal region.
My Mom's Memorial Service & Visitation Details
My Mom's Obituary:
Lynn Kurt, age 62, safely walked into the arms of Jesus on October 6, 2006 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. She was the daughter of Harry (deceased) and Agnes Smith; sister to Bill (deceased) and loving wife to Jim Kurt. Lynn was a Proverb 31 woman who will be missed by all, until we are all reunited with her in Heaven.
Jim and Lynn have been blessed with four children who married wonderful spouses: Daniel & Kris Kurt; David & Cathie Kurt; Jonathan & Beth Kurt and Susan & Kevin Mayes. Lynn loved spending time with her grandchildren. They are Matthew, Nathaniel, Andrew, Madeline, Stephen, Gabriel, Emily, Allison, Benjamin and Libby.
She spent her life in service to others. Her passion was protecting unborn children through Right to Life, Lutherans for Life, Pregnancy Services of Greater Lansing and the Republican Party.
Lynn was involved in her church, St. Luke Lutheran, and felt greatly blessed by the members. A special thanks to her best friend and shopping buddy, Sherry, who has given unselfishly of herself in caring for Lynn and her family.
A memorial service will be held Monday, October 9, 2006 at 11 a.m. at St. Luke Lutheran Church, 5589 Van Atta Road, Haslett with Pastor Dave Davis officiating. The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, at the Gorsline-Runciman Funeral Home, 205 E. Washington Street, DeWitt.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Lutherans for Life, Pregnancy Services of Greater Lansing, or PanCan Research in memory of Lynn.
Susan's Brother Dave
My baby-sister Sooze had such nice things to say about me, I'm quoting them here because I want to savor these words forever.
My brother, Dave, never seizes to amaze me. I think he has 2 spiritual gifts:
1. To make people feel very awkward in a normal situation or...
2.To make people not feel awkward at all in a very awkward situation
During this time with my mom this week, Dave has really stepped up to the plate. At a time, when even I feel weird, he can walk into the room and make everyone feel comfortable.
Now most of you know, this is not usually how Dave is. Normally, his goal is to see if he can make everyone in the room feel as uncomfortable as possible. 99% of the time, he succeeds.
It's pretty cool to see him like this. He just seems to know what to say at the right time and even the right way to say it. (Very unusual for him to actually use this the right way)
Friday, October 06, 2006
My Mom is Gone
My Mom is gone. She died tonight around 11pm. We were all there with her as her soul went to heaven and her body became an empty shell. She was at peace. She knew where she was going. I've never experienced anything like this in my life. There's a part of me racked with grief and another part of me that is glad she's not hurting any more. We have so many wonderful stories, memories and pictures to keep her memory alive in our family.
We were talking tonight about my Mom being in heaven. We believe that she will either be the greeter at the gates, welcoming people in and telling them where to eat or she will work in a giant heavenly nursery, holding the babies.
My Dad is without his wife of 40 years. My siblings and I are without a Mom. Our kids will miss their grandmother like nothing else. Sherry is without a sister and best friend. My grandmother now has no surviving children. So many people lose in this deal.
I keep thinking about this verse:
13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (1 Thes 4:13-14)As I sat there with my Mom at the end, I was thinking about what race she has run. She lived life to the fullest, she loved God deeply and she loved people so very, very well. I want to run the race like she did. Serving others, loving the hard to love and helping the helpless. I admire and love my Mom so much. She modeled this for me. She trained hard, she didn't run aimlessly. She got the prize:
I am sad. It hurts. I don't understand it, but buried beneath the saddness is a relief and happiness for where my Mom is at and for this week with her that I have locked away in my heart forever.24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Mom - Friday Night
My family is here at my parents house, here for the last moments of my Mom's life. We're all in the bedroom with her. We're crying, laughing, praying and sitting quietly thinking and watching my Mom. The end is near. I'm just thankful it's not really the end.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)