Sunday, September 12, 2010

I am making an effort at becoming part of the community. The week after Mom's funeral, I got called on to help with Aunt Bea's funeral dinner. (Aunt Bea is aunt to my cousins so that is how I knew her although we are not related.) The Ladies of the Club were responsible for desserts and the meal was catered so I made lemon bars. They were okay.

But first let's talk about funeral dinners. I don't know about the rest of the world, but here, where people travel great distances and there are usually no facilities (hotels/motels, banquet halls, huge houses) the family time related to the funeral happens at the community hall. The ladies of the community provide a meal, serve and clean up while the family eats and mills around talking to people they haven't seen in years, and may never see again. The burden of being host or hostess is taken off the shoulders of the family by the ladies of the club (and some men in this place and time).

Why is it that the good party happens without the guest of honor?

And so it begins

The funeral is over. The company is gone.

I still have much to do, and a lot of time to do it. But now I feel like I have some control over my life. I have been making lists. I have been looking for things. I have even starting going through things. I only hope I can keep doing with no deadlines to force me to do. I am not good at non-deadline accomplishment

The world has settled down...

Two weeks later, the company is gone, the daily trips are planned and not daily, and the things I have thought needed to be done are getting done. And I am resting.

It is hard to believe how tired driving to Meade and sitting by Mom's bed made me. Now I can't sleep because I don't get tired enough. I am trying to step up the activity, making daily trips to the mailbox. If I can get them in, I try for 4 trips with each being about 1500 steps.


The following week, I got to pretend that I am a farmer. Decisions need to be made and I want to know what I am deciding, so when the crop insurance agent had a meeting to explain the next year's required actions, I went. What I learned was that meetings are catered too! A well known barbeque wagon came loaded for bear, a huge meal was served, the meeting was held, and then door prizes! I won a raffle (a can of WD-49) and shopped the free goodies (flashlight, bottle cozy and ...)

Everything is a party here