Monday, March 25, 2019

Eating Chicken on a Grave?



No, that's not morbid . . . it was a birthday party!


My husband and his sister had planned to get together 'one of these days', and you know how that goes. They got as far as deciding to go have a chicken dinner at Chicken Chef. But, life was always too busy.

   . . . and then he was gone.


My sister-in-law messaged me last week to tell me that Derek owed her a chicken dinner, and she was planning to collect on that promise , by getting take-out food from Chicken Chef on his birthday, and eating it at his graveside. Did we want to join her?


I thought the idea was a little morbid, but okay, I agreed to join her for a picnic in the cemetery -- I had wanted to go put some flowers on Derek's grave anyway. We invited my kids, and Derek's brother and his wife. We set up chairs around the grave, and ate chicken.

So we celebrated Derek's birthday at the site where his physical body was laid to rest almost three months ago. It was cold!


What kept this graveside picnic from getting morbid or creepy was that Derek isn't there anymore, just the body that contained his spirit for 58 years. We  know where he is, and that he must be looking down at us eating chicken on his grave on the coldest day of March.

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Muddling through the Murky Middles


You know you are middle aged when . . .

     . . . you realize that you have not become your mother after all. Somehow, you skipped right into becoming your grandmother!


     . . . you and your friends have stopped one-upping each other's horror stories from labour pains and the delivery room, and have been  comparing notes on your collection of ailments and  syndromes.


         . . .  you still buy the sexy nightie, but now you wonder how it will look with your incontinence brief underneath.


        . . . . Your back and your knees plead with you to stay home, but your bank account says you have to go to work.  


Here's to all of us muddling  through the murky middles. Soon enough we will be joining the grey hair crowd, but for now, what happens at the hair salon is still magic.