Where to begin Part II - Iowa

As I said in the last post, we found out on July 31st, that Jake's Grandmother had passed away. We got one of those calls at 6:30 am that you know probably isn't anything else, but you hope that it is anyway. Grandma Freitag went into the hospital about 8 weeks ago so it wasn't a complete surprise, but she had been improving over the last week, so we were still disappointed and very sad. Jake and I made the decision to drive the 13 hours back home, and took off early on Friday.

Of course it was a very sad time, but as odd as this might sound, I really enjoyed the trip. I didn't know Jake's mother very well, and had only met her one time before. We spent 3 days with her, and Jake's brother and sister, and I got to know her and them so much better. I loved spending time with all of them. Jake's mother is caring, funny and witty, even in such a time of sorrow. I was glad I could be there to comfort her, and it made me feel so happy when she would introduce me as Jake's fiance and say that she had a wedding to look forward to.

One of my favorite activities was on Saturday evening the day before the wake, the whole family got together at Grandma's farm and had a bonfire, a few drinks, and just spent time together. Everyone was so genuinely nice, unpretentious, and immediately made me feel like part of the family.

Grandma Freitag was too young and will be missed by her family, and I am sorry I didn't get a chance to know her better, but I am so thankful that from her passing I had an opportunity to get to know my future mother in law so much better.