Funeral for Eric's Uncle Dave

On Saturday, we attended the funeral for Eric's uncle, David Brode, in Carson City. Eric was actually talking to Dave in the very moment that he passed away. It was kind of a sacred experience for Eric, and I hope I can get him to write more about it, since I wasn't there. Pretty amazing, though.

Eric's parents came to stay with us, as well as his sisters, Christie and Jenny, and Jenny's friend Catherine. It was great to see everyone. Catherine is an incredible musician, and was asked to provide a musical number for the funeral service (one of Uncle David's favorite songs, "Somewhere My Love") So she brought her guitar, and we benefited from it during her all-too-short stay with us. Eric's dad is also very musically talented (both he and Catherine actually play in bluegrass groups in their spare time), and he brought his fiddle and his ukulele.

Early Morning Jam Session

First thing this morning, we had the greatest jam session right in our den! The bluegrass pros plus the budding talent, Christian, on the bugle (watch out for his musical talent in the future - he has the genes and the interest) It was incredible! I wish it could have gone on all day!




Anyway, the funeral service was nice, but I spent the whole time in the lobby of the funeral home trying to wrangle Christian and keep him from being a distraction in any way, so I'm the least qualified to comment on it. Eric said the closing prayer, and did a really good job. The family said repeatedly to me what a blessing Eric had been to them in the last week of Uncle Dave's life.


I think they relied on Eric partly because they looked to him as a
proxy for his dad, who, as I see it, is revered by pretty much everyone in his family, and partly because they looked to Eric as a spiritual leader, something that possibly has been missing in their lives. I'm really glad he was listening to the Spirit and was able to help them at such an important time.


David Brode served in the Navy, so there was a Navy Honor Guard at the burial site. Amazingly, Christian watched it all reverently, which was perfect.

After the funeral, there was a family luncheon at Eric's cousin, Tina's, house. I don't know that side of the family really well, but they were just all so sweet and wonderful. We had even more amazing music there at the house with LeAnn's talented daughter and her fiddle, coupled with Eric's dad's and Catherine's guitar. It was amazing, and so fun. Too bad I spent most of the time in the backyard making sure Christian didn't get himself killed while having the time of his life on a trampoline with 3 big kids. He got filthy, but the fun was worth it.

Christian also met a little friend his age, Trevor. They just had a blast once they got to know each other. Here they shared a refreshing glass of water (notice how flushed they look from playing so hard). Christian was even clinking cups together and saying, "Cheers!" I'm not sure where he learned that.

It was a nice day with the family.