Life is just TOO short

Tuesday morning at 3:30am my cell phone rings. Now you know that is NEVER a good sign when your phone rings in the middle of the night.

My Uncle Grady that lives in Sacramento was staying at my dads house to visit while his wife and grand kids went to Baseball games in AZ. Tuesday morning he was having problems breathing and couldn't sleep. About 2am my dad called down the hall because the light was on and asked "Grady, are you ok?". My Uncle Grady said no. My dad grabbed the phone and called 911 and flew down the hall to my Uncle. My dad helped him change his shirt because it was soaked and then the Paramedics got there. My Uncle Grady stopped breathing, they took him away in the ambulance and before they could get to the hospital he was gone. Just like that.

When I got the call, I had to call my dad's brothers and sisters to let them know. I got dressed and went to pick up my Aunt and head out to Corona. We all meet in the hospital where they have a little room for the family to sit in and a volunteer to answer questions and take care of the family. All the while my Uncle Grady's wife was in Arizona and a good 5 hour drive away. My other Aunts and Uncle and my dad got to go in and see him before the Coroner took him away. It was a really rough morning for all of us.
My dear Uncle Grady. 70 years old


The rest of that day and really the rest of that week was really hard on the whole family. My sister and I raced home to my dads house to get some breakfast and clean up, as the whole family would be there within the hour. And more family from Arizona would be there within a few hours. It was like the day my mom died all over again.... One by one family members gathered at my dads house waiting for my Aunt to get there from Arizona so we could all be there for her. The last time I was at my mom and dads house with all the family was the day my mom died. Same thing, same drill, only 21 months later.

The week went on and arrangements were made. My Aunt was considerate and wanted the service in Corona so all of the family could be there. It was amazing how my Uncle Grady lived in Orange County the majority of his life, moved to Sacramento years ago, but came back for a vacation and died really close to all of his relatives. I know things always happen for a reason, but this one just hit that saying out of the park!

Not only was he out here when he passed away but most of the family had just seen him days before. We all went to dinner Saturday night before Father's Day. I got to see him, give him a hug and a kiss. Had he passed away in Sacramento that week would have been a lot worse then it already was. Not to mention that the days before he died, he sat in my dads living room with his brothers and talked about old times. My dad says they played old records on the record player, they talked about the days when they grew up in New York. They reminisced on the good ol' days. And then he died. Meant to be...

The funeral was held at my mom and dads home church in Corona. We have the best Pastor in the whole world. I called to ask him if we could have the funeral there and Pastor Steve didn't even hesitate. Yes of course. He didn't even think twice about it. Whatever the Harp family needed, he would provide for us. It's amazing to feel like you know that he will always be there! He has been there for us through so many good times and bad!

Having the funeral at our home church is bittersweet for me. Saturday when I walked into the church for the first time since we had my moms funeral there, I had to just sit down and cry. Almost as if it was my moms funeral all over again. I don't clearly remember the day of my moms funeral but it all came back to me as I sat down in the church. Pastor Steve sat with me and reminded me of all the good times I had in that church as well. And it was true. I enjoy sitting in that church while being led by Pastor Steve. He is the most amazing man ever!! The service was pretty hard on me, as was for everyone else I'm sure. I felt bad for my aunt. I felt bad for my dad who has lost his best brother not even two years after his wife. I know my whole family was feeling the hurt.

While I'm pretty crazy about pictures and have no problem taking them ALL the time, I wasn't 100% sure that a funeral was the best place to take them, but then it hit me that I never have half of these people all in one room together so now was just going to have to work. They decided to take them around uncle Grady. Kinda weird and creepy when you look at the pictures cause it looks like he is there, just sitting on a chair.

I was glad that my adopted Uncle Joey came down. He was around a lot when I was little and he was like my uncle. The family doesn't get to see him enough!

As you can imagine the passing of my Uncle was super rough on me. It was very similar to when my mom died. And at that time I was pretty numb to the whole thing, so I think I sat in the church and cried more on this day then I did when we had my moms funeral. The emotion running through me some days is pretty crazy!

Having my Uncle die makes me think about so many things in life! Things just go so fast in life and we really need to stop and smell the roses! Take some time off, be with family, take lots of pictures and remind the ones you love of how much you love them and how much they mean to you! You just never know if it's going to be their day to leave us.