As you saw if you follow @educatingoaks on Instagram, we did not at all have the week that I planned. Instead, we celebrated my mother-in-law’s life, and we began a new shadowy period of grief. We did some shopping, as Mimi would have appreciated seeing her little men in suits and ties. We learned the names of some flowers that we hadn’t noticed before. We talked about Jesus and heaven and death and eternal life. We learned some new-to-us family stories about Mimi. We spent time with family. We processed.
Part of educating these boys is walking them through life circumstances. They need to know how to meet new people, but they also need to know how to say good-bye (for now) to those they love. They need to know how to love well, but great love can lead to great grief, and they have to know how to grieve well also. So, they went to say good-bye to Mimi, and since she was unconscious, they knew they went for them and not for her. There were questions and tears, and there will be more in the coming days. We sang a few hymns for her and for our own spirits. The younger boys went to Gramma’s, and Micah, Jon, and I stayed with our family until Mimi was with Jesus, waiting and praying, singing and being.
This next week, the plans don’t look different than usual, but life does. We’ll be adjusting to life without Mimi and walking through Holy Week. Next Sunday is a celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, and it will be our first holiday without our family’s primary hostess and party-planner. But we will celebrate because Jesus conquered death in order to bring us life, and because of that, Mimi is probably planning a party in heaven.