Pictures from Today, Plus the Trip That Wasn't

Today our family attended the memorial service for Dr. Charles Martin, our family friend and pediatrician, who was an amazing doctor and highly regarded by our local birth community (see my tribute here).

I could say that it was a lovely service, and I'm sure it was, but the truth was that I didn't hear a word of it. Being that we were about 5 minutes late, we arrived to an office that was not just "standing room only" but "standing room outside only." We stood outside in the rain, with a lot of other attendees, looking through the glass, for about 15 minutes until someone took pity on all of us and shepherded us into the back office, where more and more people piled in until we were stuffed like sardines into the proverbial can. Unfortunately, there was no sound, so we ended up standing elevator-style in the back for the entire service, hearing an occasional sentence fragment from the front.

In some ways, I was glad about that, being that I am still very upset over Dr. Martin's death, and I have a bad habit of bawling at funerals anyhow. But I also feel like we missed something very precious... so I regretted it at the same time. Next time, they definitely need to hold a service at a bigger location! (Not that there will be another time, but still!)

Anyhow, the service was highly successful. Several hundred people attended, and the service consisted of about 90 minutes of "open mic", with people telling stories of their time with Dr. Martin. There were colleagues, staff, students, and clients present - all kinds. It was really touching to see people in tears for their doctor and colleague - a reflection of what a great guy he was.

My husband went in after the service was over, and took some pictures, so here they are:

It was a lovely outpouring of support!

It hasn't been made clear yet whether another doctor will be taking the practice, or if the practice is dissolving. We'll probably find out in the next couple of weeks.

***

We had planned a trip northward to visit DH's family this weekend, intending to leave last night. After learning of today's memorial service, we decided to move our trip up 24 hours so that we could attend the service and leave directly from the service.

However, this trip just did not go smoothly. It was just one set-back after another - I told DH yesterday that it felt like our efforts were ill-fated, like the trip just was not meant to be. We considered canceling, but our son was counting on it, so we forged ahead.

So after the funeral today, we headed down the road - in said driving rain storm, despite all our better feelings. However, about 40 minutes down the road, DH's parents called us and told us that they thought we should call off the trip. There was a furious snowstorm going on at their place and in the mountains around their town (that we would be driving through), and the roads were being closed - they didn't have a good feeling about it.

So we turned around and headed for home. I was a wee bit disappointed, but mainly relieved. This was not a good weekend for a trip.

It's been quite a week! And not one that I care to repeat any time soon. Here's to a better weekend and coming week! And happy Sabbath, everyone!