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Again, thank you, everyone, for your kind words. They are doing wonders as far as keeping my spirits up.
I also wanted to post an update. I had a chance, along with another of our friends, to speak with Isaac's parents. At first, it was a little awkward, since I wasn't sure how his parents were going to react to us (Later, his Mom had a laugh describing how everyone that came over was watching her out of the corner of their eye, to see how she was doing). I also got to meet one of his three older brothers, whom I unfortunately hadn't gotten to know better. We all shared some stories, some tears, and some laughs. And some beer.
As we kind of settled into the moment, his parents asked that we, along with our other friends Chris and Clark, be pallbearers during the funeral, which we accepted without hesitation. We will carry the casket on the way into the church, and then he will receive a full military burial, along with military pallbearers on the way out to the cemetary. They also asked two favors of me, which brought me to tears, yet again. Isaac was Catholic, so they are planning an appropriate ceremony; they will have the priest speak, and then his brother will eulogize him on behalf of the family. His parents have asked me to deliver a eulogy on behalf of his friends, which I accepted and view as a great honor.
They also asked that I accompany them to pick up his body from the airport. Whenever Isaac had leave, I would pick him up at the airport, and drop him off at his parent's house. They figured that since this is the last time he will be coming home, it would be fitting that I be there at the airport with them. His Dad almost completely broke down when he asked me that, which made me almost completely break down. I was, and still am, touched that they want me to be such a big part of this occassion.
I'm not entirely sure what to expect from a Catholic burial, as the only funerals I went to were my Grandparents', who were Christian (but I don't know which denomination). Is there anywhere I can get a description of what is going to happen? Also, I'm not entirely sure what appropriate dress would be when we pick up the body. I'm planning on dressing nicely, but do I need to wear a suit, or would that be overdoing it?
I don't know if I'm going to be able to get through giving a eulogy; I took speech in college, but it doesn't reall prepare you for something like this. . .
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