Sorry for not blogging for so long, my semester ended in an unexpected way and I just had life things to do and didn’t think about blogging. My last week of classes was pretty normal, I had a concert and played my composition for my class and what not. That Friday I had a few friends over for some dinner and then we went and saw a chamber recital thing at a garden, which was a lot of fun.
What I wasn’t expecting was to wake up on Saturday by a phone call telling me a close family friend had passed away in an accident. So I immediately was heading home to be with my friend, who was going to have to be the one planning the funeral of her father, as the parents divorced. I pretty much threw some clothes in a bag and left, texting my professor to see what I could do about my jury. Honestly, the rest of that week was pretty much a blur. My jury is worked out, though it’s not exactly what I would have liked, but it is what it is. I spent basically all day everyday being by my friends side, helping with whatever I could, including staying the night with her, as those were harder because that’s when people would leave. It was a blur of funeral planning, figuring out what needed to be done with where he was living, getting her dog (who was in the accident with her father) from the shelter it was in, and more. It was really hard, and it kinda still is. He was basically like an uncle to me. I never realized how much a funeral was, as I haven’t really been to any. My friend, even though she just found out of her dad’s passing, had to call funeral homes, make plans, sign papers, find a casket, plan a program, read autopsy reports, talk with investigators, and literally couldn’t go an hour without someone calling her for something. I could tell how hard it was, and I was quick to tell her that it was okay for her to just put her phone on silent for a few hours to just breathe. I also just hadn’t ever seen her in the state she was in, she’s usually upbeat and happy. I could just see the pain of her losing her father and that was hard. I also wasn’t even sure I was even helping because I couldn’t really do anything, but be physically there for her and make sure she wasn’t alone. It felt likeI was doing nothing, but she did say it helped a lot. Saturday was the actual funeral, which was also really hard and full of tears. The family asked me to play in one of the pieces that he’d said he wanted played at his funeral, which was nice. I almost cried in the middle of it, but I was able to play mostly. It was really tough. School-wise, I was supposed to be at recitals and I also wanted to make an official recording of the piece I wrote, but I missed them to be with my friend, which I don’t regret at all. So that’s where I’ve been this past week. I’ll also be going to the funeral this weekend (yes, they’re having two) out west, where he’ll be buried next to family.
Right now, I’m back in West Virginia for a day to say goodbye to some friends who graduated. I’ll be heading back out Wednesday, but I did come with my sibling so it should be a chill few days. I also just honestly need some good sleep after the week I had. I can’t say when I’ll blog next…I honestly don’t think I’ll be worried about blogging with traveling and the funeral this weekend, but I’ll update when I update.
I guess I’ll end with some happy things from the past week, as I was home with my family as well. I got to see a lot of people I hadn’t in a while. I got to see my friends cat, who I actually was planning on adopting, but ended up not. I also was able to see her dog, which she was ecstatic to see and get her dog back into her arms, but we were able to go on walks with her and bathe her and things. Lastly, a ramen shop opened up in our small Kentucky town which is very surprising, and even more surprising is that it’s actually really good…and of course they had boba too 🙂
by juniparker
