Today I emailed my mother's obituary.....to her, at her request. You see, the Uber-Planner wants everything ready in an envelope so that no one has to fuss about any of her funeral arrangements. That includes the obit, which I insisted on writing because, well, that's what I do.
I carefully included the many aspects of her life -- church, local politics, local service, work, etc., but without being maudlin (the phrase "asleep in the arms of Jesus" does not appear in her obit). I have a horror of the obituary style that seems to be so prevalent today -- where superlative adjectives are used to describe the deceased and every aspect of his/her life. E.g. "Hephzebah was a fantastic mother to fourteen perfect children and a doting grandmother to her fifty eight wonderful grandkids." I did use the adjective "accomplished" when I described her musical activities -- but that's because it's an accurate assessment of my mother's skill and talent. The rest of the obit is as straightforward as my mother. Fitting.
I did leave out the part where she skipped high school to go see "Gone With the Wind" and her eldest sister forged her absentee note. I thought that was a judicious call on my part.
We'll see what Mom thinks.
Surreal. And a little bit funny.
By the way, Mom is still feeling really good with the herbal supplements she's currently taking. Thank you to everyone who continues to pray for her -- it's still a terminal situation, even though the herbs are making her more comfortable right now.
- Catherine
3 comments:
Judicious indeed. If she doesn't appreciate it, at least your kids will.
I'm so glad the herbal regimen is helping her enjoy life! In re: Gone with the Wind -- i recall my mom saying that the film was a big positive deal (this was in small town NC) because it was so sympathetic to the post-bellum south, but that the kids needed permission slips from their parents, to go see it, because of that controversial use of the D word at the end!
Karen, I don't think I've ever told Abbi that story about her grandmother -- I think I have to do that soon.
Ruth -- GWTW was a HUGE deal when it came to the city of Newark, NJ (whatever year that was -- Mom just said "high school" as the point of reference). It was the only time she skipped school in her whole life.
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