my father's namesake

Saturday, March 23, 2019, was a day that defies summary, so I'll let the photos lead as usual.

First Evangelical Lutheran Church, stained glass, trumpet song. A eulogy about the "man who stayed at home," whose story, like Leopold Bloom's, would be much harder to write and read than The Odyssey (and therefore/all the more worthwhile). And a quote from this book: 

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

My [family] you'll be.

My cousin Delia taught me that the sweets in the lower left-hand corner are called "Buckeyes" and should not be consumed by University of Michigan fans.

Back at the aforementioned home: Great-Grandfather Ernst constructed hundreds of drawers to house everything from staples to solder, and Great-Uncle Bill contorted pipes to fit crawlspaces.

Great-Aunt Norma forms flowers from bread dough, on display in the shop, home, and here. Framed:

You never really leave 

the people you have loved. 

Part of them stays with you, 

leaving a part of you with them.

Here's my mom with two periwinkle-colored roses in her ears! Aunt Norma lovingly gave them to us, along with an ingredient for her six-decade marriage: "Respect."

An afternoon spent poring over pictures, with yellow lamplight gradually replacing the white of day.

Very fruitful poring! Top: my grandma Marion as a child (center), holding a tinier Great-Uncle Bill. Next generation back: passports (Reisepässen) from 1926 featuring my great-grandparents, Ernst Rudloff and Margarethe Bardenhagen. Great-Grandma ("Urgroßmutti") passed her prominent "Bardenhagen" nose to almost everyone in the house that afternoon. I did a lil google and discovered that Rudloff and Bardenhagen roughly translate to "fame and glory wolf" and "poets in an enclosure," respectively. Lastly, another generation back: my great-great-grandparents, one of whom was also a William. I think Great-Uncle Bill resembles his grandmother.

My great-grandparents' resting place, less than two miles from the home that their son lived in for most of his life. His ashes will stay, too, and when commingled with Aunt Norma's will be the bed for a tree.

And the very best reunion: I hadn't seen Delia and Uncle Bob for about ten years. My heart was full at last, and I felt like I could talk to them forever. Looking forward to having everyone together again one day. If Delia and I plan à la Parent Trap, that day will be within a year!

To end: Back at the Days Inn with Aunt Norma's flowers in my hair, processing each conversation. I am filled with love for my family: Great-Aunt Norma, Aunt Connie, Uncle David, Aunt Karen, and all their children, as well as for my dear own Breck-Grimes family. Thank you, Uncle Bill, for loving your family so well, and for bringing us together again. I wish I had met you sailing the lakes or the skies.

Psalm 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.