San Antonio

Eric and I got back from a last minute unexpected trip down to San Antonio last week. His grandfather sadly passed away recently. We went down for the services and to spend time with everyone. It's been a really difficult loss for the whole family. He was an accomplished veteran, a loving family man who adored all the girls in his life (wife of 72 years and 4 daughters), he gave back to his community every chance he got, and loved taking advantage of all life has to offer. He lived a long, fulfilling life, but it doesn't make the loss of such a great man any easier.

We flew down with Eric's parents early on a Wednesday morning.



We were thankful Eric's sister, Alison, was also able to make a last minute trip out from California. That afternoon we got changed at the hotel and went straight to the rosary service. I didn't take any pictures in any of the services until the next day at the cemetery (where his family really wanted some pictures they could look back on). The rosary service went pretty late. We got dinner with everyone after and went straight to bed that night. The next morning got ready for the funeral Mass.





Col. McSwain was buried with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.







They gave 3 shell casings from the service to Eric's grandmother for her to keep. She actually ended up letting Eric keep one which was so special.







We attended a luncheon back at the church after the services and then went back to the hotel for some quiet time to rest. Later that night we went out to dinner with all the family.



This trip was actually the first time I was meeting any of Eric's extended family. It was a really bittersweet way to meet everyone but I was so thankful to be there and get to know all of them a little better. I feel like I got to spend some quality time with each of them and learned so much about what an amazing family they have.



The next morning we went to Eric's grandma's house to spend time with her. She is an amazing, strong woman. At 91, I was completely impressed with how she was handling everything.



I love all of Eric's family, but I probably enjoyed spending time with her the most.  I loved hearing all of the stories about Col. McSwain and their family. Although I was never fortunate enough to meet Eric's grandfather in person, we did get a chance to FaceTime and I feel like I learned so much about him during this trip. I learned that Eric has a lot of his grandfather in him, and I can't be anything but grateful to him for that.



His grandfather also loved to paint. He had paintings all over the house. This fascinated me. Not only the fact that he painted, but just learning about their appreciation for art, the painters they knew or that his grandfather had learned from, the market of buying and selling paintings in a time where I believed it to be a thing of the past. His grandmother also had some reproductions of some of his work that she let us take home with us.



That afternoon, we went to see Eric's grandparents' old house where they lived for 40+ years. They sold the house to one of their daughters a little over a year ago when they moved into the Army Residence Community.



The flag was at half mast when we arrived. The daughter (Eric's aunt) who bought the house lives in Alaska but wanted to keep it in the family, renovate it, and potentially rent it out. The inside was still in the middle of renovations but the backyard was beautiful.



Eric's and my favorite part was rummaging through the garage. Although his grandparents haven't lived in the house for over a year, we still found all kinds of old projects and paintings his grandfather was working on. It was really special to spend some time looking through some of it.





Later that night Eric took me to see the Alamo and the River Walk. It was my first time in San Antonio so he wanted me to at least get a taste of the place where he grew up and loves so much.



It was absolutely beautiful. The River Walk was nothing like I'd ever seen. It felt like we were in another country.





There was art everywhere. Random mosaics under bridges.



The river even ran through buildings.



I can't wait to spend more time there one day.



 The next morning Eric took me to see Market Square (commonly known as the Mexican Market).



First we went to the restaurant where Eric's parents had their rehearsal dinner.



Everything was so unique and colorful and festive. It was just a fun place to be.



The room below is the very room Eric's parents had their rehearsal dinner at 38 years ago.



We did a little shopping and ate some freshly made gorditas for lunch.



That afternoon we went to have dinner with Eric's grandmother and one of his Aunts one more time before we had to leave.



It was so nice to spend time with family, as sad as the circumstances were. It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone.



A very bittersweet trip.



Col. Earl McSwain - Obituary