Adeline's Wake

(Pierz is interesting for a lot of reasons, and one is that there is/was an Upper town and a Lower town, or North and South, with the church as the divide.  In a small town of a thousand people, there are two funeral homes, one on either end of town.  Shelley Virnig is on the south end, and grandpa Janson's wake was there in 1955, but it must be that the Hesch side prefers Emblom Brenny on the north end).

It seems like there's almost a sense of urgency among relatives at a wake.  It's such a short time to catch up on who's moved, who has new grandkids, who's ill or divorcing or getting married...and definitely time to talk family history.  And really, when does this mix of family and friends come together otherwise?   We were a Venn diagram with Adeline at the center ☺.  It was good to see two of Adeline's three remaining sisters, to reconnect with Joanie, Karen and Renee,  and to meet a few of Adeline's beautiful grandkids.

Oh dear--I'm at the age where I enjoy wakes.  But is it age, or just that family means a lot?  Probably a bit of both...the sadness of loosing a dear person who knew my dad and grandparents' generation personally is tempered by renewed connections in mine.  It's the way the world works, huh?