Visitation, Graveside & No A/C

Sunday, June 29th a visitation was held for family and some close friends to honor Nanny. It was very touching to see all of those who came out that afternoon. Skylar and Rhylan, after tears were shed and goodbyes were said, socialized well in their normal fashion - Rhylan by crawling up in anyone's lap who would allow it and Skylar by coercing a reading or two out of unsuspecting guests from the selection of children's books on hand. Afterward, the family gathered at my folks' for a meal provided by the Mayor of Meatville himself, Chris. Unfortunately, his BBQ at church did not go as well as he had wanted, but that left plenty of meat for the family to devour and appreciate.
Monday morning, we all gathered at the graveside at 10 am in Smithville, Tx (which is about 3 hours from Houston) for a small family service that was (sadly) officiated by a Baptist preacher who did not know Nanny. He did ok, but would lapse into eulogizing his OWN grandmother. He did this several times before reeling himself back in to eulogizing Nanny and focusing on the job at hand. Thankfully, Nanny didn't need a eulogy - she lived such a life that was so blatantly good that there was really no need to expound on it. Now, we could delve into some of the quirkyness that was Nanny - her tendancy to play favorites or her ability to fashion silly little words that actually did make sense the way she used them (i.e.: "All it needs is a TIG of salt and it'll be perfect.") We could talk about her sweetness and her humor all day and the family did at lunch after the service, while Chris and I made our way back to Houston without the girls in tow.
Now, that is a story. You see, the air conditioning failed on the way to Smithville Monday morning. At first, the only hinderance was in the form of the instant sinus closures we all experienced. Then the windows had to be opened and the offenses of the Texas heat mingled with the sometimes sweet, but sometimes nose-hair melting, odors blew in and assaulted us all. The girls, having the self-preservation gene, decided to return to Houston with their Mimi & Poppy, by way of my sister's compound in Burton. Smart, smart children. There is nothing - truly nothing - like a 3 hour car ride in 95 degree Texas heat with 90% humidity and NO A/C! We arrived home dripping wet, smelling like a 3rd world country (yes, the ENTIRE country) and so parched from the experience we each had several glasses of water before being able to speak. I guess we will have to get the A/C fixed now...