I’m just back from the deep end of the family pool. My two sisters, my sister V’s new husband Randy, and I went up to Wisconsin on Thursday in my mother-in-law’s minivan. Vacationing bereavement provides an odd set of experiences to process. Sandy is rarely parted from her two children and husband for more than a few hours; so, for her there was both the journey of loss and the relief of temporary escape from the constant demands of motherhood. V and Randy have yet to honeymoon and this was their first post marriage trip anywhere. Jes was working and the drive is too far for E just yet.

We spent time with rarely seen and much loved family; we did vacation things like junk shopping, the cheese factory, and golf; we watched Wimbledon; we told and retold our family stories with constant revision and revelation; we celebrated the life and passing of my uncle – a great man with a lasting shadow beyond our family in the world of Wisconsin forestry and land preservation. We stood together for visitation, funeral, committal, and a graveside thunderstorm of epic proportions. We’ve returned now to our lives, a little less and a little more rich than we left them.