In memory...

On Friday December 30 we ended the year of 2011 with a funeral for my Aunt Kay. She was 72 years old - the only living sibling of my dad. Her parents (my grandparents) are still alive. My grandpa is 96 years old, and my grandma is 90.

It was a hard funeral to go to - I had a lot of emotions running through me that were hard to control. It mostly made me realize how fragile life is, and how you truly don't know when any of us will die - or how. It makes me want to hold onto those I love even tighter and make the moments matter.

We took some pictures in the Layton Cemetery - it's full of our heritage, being descendents of the Layton family and all. My grandma Lorraine is a Layton. She has a plot here with her and Grandpa's headstone on it - with their names engraved and all - which is rather weird, since they are still living and all. Next to them they now have three of their four children. Joseph Peter ("Pete") died when he was 4ish. He had Leukemia. From the stories my dad tells about his little brother - he was the cutest little guy ever. That was really hard on the family. My dad also lost a little sister - Carrie - she only lived a day. My Grandma had toxemia, and the baby was born premature, and wasn't well. My Grandma never did get to see her baby because Grandma was so sick. They thought they would loose her too. And now, my Grandma has lost her only living daughter - I can't imagine the heartache that is.
I know how often I lean on my mom - and how nice it is to call and chat. I'm sure my Grandma will greatly miss her daughter. We will miss her too. Now it's just my dad left to take care of his parents. I'm glad that we live close enough to maybe help out a bit! Just remember how fragile life is! (and give all those you love a great big hug!!!!)