Life With the Finch Family: Phoenix

This is so behind, ah! I'm getting so busy, it's getting really hard to keep up with my blog. I think it's going to start slowing down, but that's okay. I am going to do my best to document our life. My writing may not be as perfect as I want it to be, but it's better than nothing.

At the end of May, my mom and I made a sudden trip to Phoenix. My mom's second cousin's son (I think that makes him her third cousin?), Jair Cabrera was killed while on duty as a police officer. Neither of us had met him before, but our family thought it would be a good idea for us to go to the memorial to support Jair's parents, Pattie and Alfonzo. My mom and Pattie used to play together as little girls in Mexico.

We wouldn't have been able to go to Phoenix had the Police department not paid for our hotel and flight. I guess when an officer dies like this they will pay for the expenses of the family to attend the funeral. All of the Cabrera's more immediate family lives in Mexico, so none of them were able to cross the border. My mom, Noah, myself, my cousin, Vagner and my aunt, Olimpia were the only family members there. I'm thankful we were able to be there for them in this tragic time.

We left Wednesday and came back on Saturday, so it was a short trip. On the way there we had a direct flight, which was really great for Noah. I had no idea how he was going to do on the plane. Our flight was around his nap time so I nursed him as the plane was taking off and he fell asleep, thankfully. The flight was only about 1 1/2 hours and he slept for almost an hour, so that was nice. I was worried about his ears as we landed, so I tried to nurse him again to relieve some pressure, but he didn't want to and he seemed mostly okay.

The first day we were there we spent the day with the family. The next day was the viewing. It was very emotional. Up until then I had only been to maybe 2 funerals in my entire life. It's not a familiar thing for me. So many people came and each one gave their condolences one by one.

Friday they had the memorial for Jair. Since we were the only family there, we rode in the limo with Jair's parents and brother. This was a really cool experience for me. As we drove to where the services would be taken place at, there were hundreds of police officers officers on bikes in front and behind the limo. And on the drive, we saw so many people who had been waiting for us to pass by so they could salute us and show their respect.

As we walked into the church auditorium and saw thousands of people standing up for us I just started crying. It was so overwhelming. It's amazing how many people knew him and loved him. He clearly made a huge impact in his community and in his department. The service was very beautiful and touching. The burial was afterwards, and again, very emotional.

We had one stop on the flight home which made it a long day of traveling but Noah still slept a little on both flights so it wasn't all that bad. He actually did surprisingly better than I expected. It must have been a tender mercy from the Lord.

Although it was a bit disorganized and a little crazy at times.. especially since I don't speak Spanish and 90% of the conversations were not English.. I'm so thankful for this experience that I was able to witness. I had no idea how much really goes into a funeral for an officer who dies on duty. It warmed my heart to see how much love, honor and respect everyone showed not only towards Jair but to his family also. It was nice to get to know some of my extended family and be a support for them. It was also nice to spend time with Olimpia who I hadn't seen since my wedding day. And it was sorta nice to just get away for a few days with Noah and my mom.