The memorial service, the calf

Friday and Saturday were spent largely in travel. Mama and I left the farm Friday after a half-day of work and headed to Hot Springs for the memorial service for Rebekah and Bridgette. We had talked about going over and back on Saturday so Victoria could come as well, but she elected to stay at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa. That was for the best since on Thursday night Grandma was picking something up off the floor beside her bed and somehow ended up on the floor in a kneeling position from which she could not rise. It took Victoria and I both – once I got into position in front of Grandma – to lift and drag her onto the bed so she could right herself. That seems to have been a wakeup call to Grandma that she really does need more help that she sometimes imagines she does.

Anyway, I asked for a half-day vacation and Mama and I headed out about 2 pm Friday afternoon. That put us in Hot Springs a little after 9 pm only because where we stopped to eat that evening took us over an hour to get served and eat our dinner. Along the way, we made reservations at a Hampton Inn in Hot Springs, so we know we had a room waiting. However, that turned out to be a bit of a problem. When making the reservation, Mama had not asked the price and that price turned out to be expensive, a little over $200 including taxes and holds on the card for incidentals. Ouch! I balked at the price, and we started to call other hotels in the area. As Mama was doing so, the lady on the desk in the Hampton Inn called me to let me know that we would be charged the full price of the room even if we did not stay because the hotel has a twenty-four-hour cancellation policy for any reservation. I was not happy, but we stayed.

It may have been a direct slight on the part of the lady working the desk, but we were first put in a room on the fourth floor – which was being remodeled. It looked like a seedy third-world hotel on that floor and the room had no curtains on the window to allow us to shut out the bright exterior lights. So, Mama called the desk and asked to be placed in another room. We ended up on the second floor which was much cleaner since there was less remodeling going on there. I let the person working the desk Saturday morning know how dissatisfied we were, and I have put in a formal complaint to the hotel chain.

Mama requested a late checkout, so we were able to stay at the hotel until a little before noon. Upon ;leaving the hotel, I took Mama to a crepe shop for a light lunch and headed to the church where the memorial service was to be held. Mama was opposed to getting there too early, but I wanted to be sure to have time to talk to Mike before too many people gathered. We arrived at the church about 12:45. Mike was there with a friend who he introduced as Doc and the three of us got to visit for forty-five minutes or so before the crowd started to arrive.

Mama and I knew Chase and Makaila were in town for the service but were pleasantly surprised when Joshua and Alicia arrive as well. It was a good service. I am very glad we went. There were not as many in attendance as Mike originally expected, but there were about 150 people there – firefighter friends, Bridgette’s school friends, Becky and Bridgette’s church family, and immediate family members. Mama and I got to meet the family that had been the bane of Becky’s life with Mike. They were quite pleasant to us during the service. Very different than they had been to Rebekah during her life around them, but that is the way funeral and memorial services work.

Becky’s pastor preached the service, Mike gave a very brief speech and there was a short video of pictures of Rebekah and Bridgette presented on two large monitors at the front of the church. The service was over in less than an hour, but it was well coordinated and thoughtful. Saying our goodbyes took almost as long as the service, but we took the time to visit as long as Mama and I thought we could spare before getting back on the road. Joshua and Chase have no commitments on Sundays, but Mama and I do, so we needed to get back home. We left the church a little after 4 pm and headed home. We made several stops along the way, mostly so Mama could look at a couple dollar stores for craft items but also to to eat a quick dinner on a tiny Arkansas town at a little restaurant that was recommended by several locals Mama quizzed about eateries along our route.  We finally pulled into the garage about 10:45 Saturday night.

Yesterday, Mama and I were coordinating with our neighbor on the positioning of a steer we are buying to process. My understanding was that we would load the steer in his corral and keep it on the stock trailer until we take it to the processor today, but he did us one better. He and his son put the steer in our corral. That will make it very easy for us to complete the loading process and head to the processor this afternoon. It also spared us the rush of getting the calf loaded on a hot Sunday afternoon.

It was a very busy, very good weekend altogether.