Death and the North

Here in the North when we experience loss through death it is felt throughout the community. The school immediately closes down and the entire community mourns. Even if you don't know the person you can't help but feel some of this grief through our students.

However, when an outsider like us has a loss, you feel so very much alone. On January 4th I had returned to the Web to work and did not find out until the following afternoon that my father had passed away. it was definitely a shock. My family so desperately needed me at home, and yet I had just returned to work. I was grateful of the kindness of those i work with who were very supportive, and who understood I needed some time to process this.
Since my "evil" step-mother (yes she is truly evil) is a cheap witch, she merely had his body cremated and had no mass and no funeral. She never bothered to put an obituary in the paper. He was living in Sault Ste. Marie and there was no family there, but still she could have posted something in the paper in Thunder Bay.
Even though we do not have his remains my brother and I decided that his passing was due some respect. The family that that heartless witch tried to rip apart pulled together and began planning the funeral.

I just want to say it is very tricky making preparations for a funeral when you are 500 miles away on a frozen island in the middle of the deep North. But thank God for Facebook, email and the internet. I was able to put together a very nice service and finalize the plans. However, so that I do not disrupt my class and their learning I had to plan the funeral for the week prior to the Conference in Thunder Bay, this way my students won't feel abandoned.

Still it feels odd and you feel so very disconnected from your family, even more so when there is a loss such as this. It is often hard to convey emotion through social media to your family, and all too often one side misunderstands what the others says or asks and tempers flare. It is so much easier to do this in person. But as I am here, i don't have the luxury to fly out at the drop of a hat. Since the evil step mother will not release money from the estate to pay for the funeral, we have to shoulder that burden as well. Sad when you realize he left money for this funeral and because she wants to save the money for herself, we are stuck shouldering all the cost. But when t is a parent you do what it takes, and you ad these experiences to the list of stories you will tell when you are a grand parent.

so here is a tribute to my dad, he's gone fishing for good now, maybe he's in abaot somewhere in heaven with St.Peter and St.Andrew.....enjoy Dad!

                                                    Robert Sr and Jr with a huge haul!