Late in the week we took a short road trip from Cincy to Chicago for my grandpa’s memorial service and burial. Though it wasn’t the most joyous of occasions, it was a beautiful service to celebrate his life and we got to catch up with many family members I haven’t seen since I was a little girl and who have never met Ted.
Our drive to Chicago was rainy but thankfully uneventful. We’re pretty good at keeping each other entertained on road trips. We arrived early afternoon and met my parents at my grandma’s new memory care residential home. Though grandma is understandably a little bit peeved about the move from her home to a residential home, it’s a very nice place with lots of activities, her own room, and the staff that cares for her is excellent. I haven’t seen her since my wedding shower back in September of 2010 and since she was unable to travel for our wedding, it was also her first time meeting Ted. It was really nice to see her again, and though her memory is definitely on the decline, I’m glad to see she hasn’t lost her spunk (she informed us that it was hotter than a b*tch in her room and that she doesn’t like being around all these old zombies).
After our visit with grandma we went to visit with my Aunt Penny and cousin Tammy. Tammy is in the late stages of lung cancer brought on by a disease she had back as a teenager. After many rounds of chemo, the tumor is blocking her airway and there’s not much more they can do for her. She is under in-home hospice care now, but fortunately she isn’t in too much pain. Ted and I enjoyed a really nice two-hour visit with them that I’m sure we’ll always cherish. It was a truly great visit.
After our visits we met my mom, dad, sister, and nephews in downtown Naperville for a wonderful dinner at one of Ted’s most favorite restaurants – Ted’s Montana Grill. Obviously. They’re a nice sit-down restaurant that serves gourmet bison burgers with ingredients like garlic aioli, jalapeños, cilantro, arugula, fried onion straws, pepper jack cheese, blackberry jam, fried egg, and of course a selection of less adventurous ingredients as well. Bison burgers are fantastic! And the pickled cucumbers, fresh lemonade, and fresh seasonable apple crisp is so delicious and so huge that three people can happily split a single serving. Again, great food and a great time with family.
We checked in at our hotel in Oakbrook with a glorious, luxurious king sized bed with a million pillows and like the party animals we are, we were asleep by 10 o’clock after a few episodes of Big Bang Theory.
In the morning we had grandpa’s memorial service at the Catholic church where he and grandma were married, raised and schooled their sons, and where grandma’s memorial service was in 2008. In fact the cross that hung above the alter in the church was donated by grandma and grandpa as a lasting gift to that church. It was a beautiful service to honor his life. A small handful of grandpa’s relatives and dearest friends were in attendance and a nice choir full of people who knew grandma and grandpa sang. My dad, my uncle and I did the readings and my sister lead the singers and sang some lovely solos including Ave Maria for the service. After the service we drove to the cemetery to bury grandpa next to grandma and to visit the graves of my grandma’s sisters and great grandparents. Then we all went out to eat at one of my grandpa’s favorite restaurants – Sawa’s Old Warsaw Polish Smorgasboard. We feasted on a buffet of Polish beer, whipped potatoes, stuffed cabbage rolls, pierogi, potato pancakes with sour cream, polish sausage, sauerkraut, apple blintzes, beer battered cod, kopytka, pickled beets, and barley and smoked pork cream soup. It was all unbelievably delicious and such a nice way to pay homage to our heritage and sit with family and remember all our good times with grandma and grandpa. I got to see some great aunts and uncles, my uncle, and a few of grandpa’s friends who haven’t seen me since I had blonde ringlets back in the late 80s and early 90s. It was just so nice to see the family again.
We drove back to Cincy through the Indiana windmill farms as the sun set. We are so thankful for such a beautiful couple of days and the opportunity to enjoy so much family.
