A loss back home
We finally made it to Australia after four stops and 30 hours of travel from Brazil. All our flights were on time thankfully, or it could have been longer.
We got to our hotel around 8 am local time, and decided to get organized and try to stay awake to conquer the jet-lag. We did the usual rounds when setting up in a new place: ATM withdrawals, settle on the room, grocery shop, laundry, and email.
I logged on only to find messages from my brother and my cousin informing me of the sad news: our grandmother, who we all refer to as “Nana”, had passed away hours before we boarded our plane.
I called my Dad and he confirmed the news. Unfortunately now that I am on the other side of the world, coming home wasn’t really an option since the services would be over by the time I could get there. So, I’m limited to Skype calls and this post to share the loss with my family.
I knew Nana was not doing well lately and we all kind of expected this time would come, but it was still shocking and sad to learn.
Always smiling, laughing and surrounded by her huge family is how I remember her. The last time I asked her, she said she had 21 grandchildren and great-grandchildren (and it’s grown since then). You can imagine the great family parties we had.
She has been in assisted living the last few years and the last time I visited her she told me “I like it here, I’m very happy here.” At 93 years old, what more could you want for someone?
But I’ll still miss Nana… we all will.
Theresa said:
I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure it must be hard to be away from your family at this time, but it sounds like you have a lot of good memories and your grandmother had a life well lived. Hope you find consolation in that.
jlynch319 said:
hey wanderers,
long time no see! I’ve been so busy with work, i haven’t had much time to write, although i have still been watching and trying to keep up to date.
The funeral was the most beautiful i have ever been to in my life. It was exactly what nana would have wished for. It was an amazing day, with beautiful weather, lots of well wishers, and an incredible funeral management team.
The funeral director was an angel herself, with her eulogies, and professionalism. all of the personel in the mahoney funeral home were just there to take care of you and make you feel comfortable.
There was a deacon who spoke in the funeral parlor who was like one of us lynch’s. He was fun, touched on a lot of the thoughts that we all have as a family, and i think we all related to him in a nice way. he was an inspiration, and he made us realize that we should be celebrating the life that nana lived.(and trust me, we celebrated!, ill get to that later!)
We then go to the church after the funeral parlor for a final mass. I must say that i was honored to be a pall bearer. it was a fitting moment. all three of nanas sons(uncle jerry, uncle jim and uncle jack) along with ralph, kenny and myself carried her casket into the church for her final mass. it was a time that i think all of us will not forget.
The preist then reitterated the normal mass from my recollection(which may be distorted, because im not a weekly participant). but then he decided to make a personal political speech about FEAR!
I’ll speak for myself on this one, but this priest was like….feeeeaaaarrrrrrr………..ffffeeeeeeearrrrrrr…………….while looking in all diferent directions, sipping from his cup of holy water( i mean moonshine), this guy was clearly missing bolts! very, very odd, everyone just kind of went along with his antics just to get through his sermon.
afterwards, us lynch’s hop in our entourage and drive to the pinelawn cemetary to have a final service. it was beautiful,the weather, the birds singing in the background, the family, an incredible day to be put to rest.
i want you to know that you were there with us for those 2 days, the wake and the funeral, we all talked about you the entire time. dont ever feel bad about missing this one, because you were both here in spirit!
2leftfeet said:
Sean—
Sorry to hear about your loss, but it sounds like your Nana had a very full and rewarding life, and isn’t that what it’s all about? While I’m sure you would have liked to be there for her funeral, it’s so much more important that you let her know that you loved her and respected her while she was alive–that’s the time that your presence counts!
—Denise
Brian said:
Hey Bro,
Hope all is well in the land down under. I tried to Skype you today but I think you’re out in the middle of nowhere in the Australian Outback living like an Aborigine.
The funeral really was beautiful and the staff at Maloney’s did an outstanding job. They really made everyone comfortable during a difficult time for us all. It was good to see the Lynch’s all together again which hasn’t happened in awhile. It was eye opening and made me realize I need to get to New York more often as you see how fast time fly’s bye.
The mass was your usual service with the exception of our priest whom I think was running for political office. Cousin John touched on this in the previous entry and I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed that. This priest told us all about our “FEARS”…….. He clearly had been raiding the stash of holy wine. We just shrugged it off and let him go through his rant…..I mean sermon.
Other than that everything else went smooth and we all said our final goodbyes at the cemetery. After that the whole family went out to celebrate the life of nana. It was nice to have everyone together again just laughing, telling stories, and enjoying themselves.
I know you wish you could be there but don’t worry about it. I know nana would just want you to be happy and live out your dreams. They say travel makes you appreciate family so much more in life and I believe there is a lot of truth to that. In many areas that you have seen so far in your travels family is always the most important thing. It is times like this that we realize how true that really is.