Auntie Monica, The After-Party

Our amazing cousins sent their amazing mom -- our beloved Auntie Moni -- off in beautiful and elegant style. You want to get it right, you want to give your parent the respect and love and honor they deserve, and the McIntyres did just that. It was gorgeous and heartfelt and moving and crowded and loud and memorable and absolutely perfect. We applaud you, our lovely cousins. We thank you, and we love you.

And after the beautiful funeral and emotional internment and delicious and celebratory luncheon? We retired to the Lake House.

Well, I mean, it's Uncle Kevin and Aunt Cheri's house house, but it's on the lake, and it's beautiful, and we retired there.

Being with several of my sisters is soul-satisfying . . .

. . . We all crave it, but it doesn't happen very often . . .

. . . and even in the midst of a sad occasion, God, so many sad occasions . . .

. . . belly laughs always always ensue.

Hey look, there's Mom!

Get over here, Mom!

Jacquie crossed the country to be with our Mom for the loss of Mom's sister, and there was so much love and emotion and heartache for Jacquie, too. I'm so glad she came. Everybody is so glad she came.

Meghan is so glad she came. So are the fruits and veggies . . .

. . . and so are (some of) the best cousins.

. . . and so are Mom and our Aunties. Oh, our wonderful aunties. How they'll miss their sister. Auntie Moni was nice to everyone -- that was the prevailing theme of her services -- and we'll all miss the specific spotlight of love she shone on each of us. It was quite a talent, really.

Jacquie told Mistah she doesn't like this lens so I'm forbidden to use this photo. Plus it fogged up between the inside A/C and the outside torrential rain and steamy weather. So please don't tell her I'm defying her.

We had such a wonderful evening celebrating Aunt Moni, and celebrating eachother, and basking in the glory of belonging to this ridiculously awesome family . . .

. . . I mean, everybody in this photo is related . . .

. . . And Julie? Aunt Moni's beloved goddaughter? Her Jewel? Who got up at 3:30 in the morning to fly from Asheville? The thing about her?

She never ever stops muddling, photo shoot or not.

I'm so thankful for my muddling, gorgeous, funny, beautiful, smart sisters and cousins and aunts and uncles and Mom. I'm so thankful for this enormous Irish family I get to be part of. I'm so thankful I had the opportunity to actually have a conversation with Aunt Moni last week -- that so many of us did -- and that she brought us all together again, although we never expected it would be so soon, and so suddenly. I'm so thankful that even with so much heartbreak, and so much stinking crying, we can still make room for belly laughs.

I'm so thankful for these wondrous peoples of mine . . .

. . . and I am so especially thankful for these glorious hosts of ours. The generosity, the hospitality, the openheartedness they provide, and the grace and ease and aplomb with which they do so, well, don't tell Uncle Kevin I said so, but they're the best. (Auntie Cheri knows -- I already told her).

We love you. We thank you. We adore you.

And we're sorry about all the empties.

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Rest in Peace, Aunt Moni.