I don't know her mother, she's barely in the office and I need advice.

Well, in this case, you wouldn't be attending because of the mother, you'd be there because of your boss. Is there a wake you could go to today? If so, I think that would be appropriate. If not, I would go to the funeral.

I'm worried that if I'm the only one who doesn't show up it will reflect badly on me, but I don't know her mother, she's barely in the office and I need advice.

askye, I'd say you should go, if it isn't too much trouble. Your attendance at a funeral can be a show of support for those who are grieving; it doesn't have to be a personal goodbye.

because people like John Muir and Ansel Adams pretty much seemed like bums

Very specialized Yosemite Bums, though.

a yeast infection can occur anywhere skin routinely touches skin & gets moist.

I thought it was nature's way of saying Welcome to Florida.

Yes, askye, you should go.

askye, I would go. The funeral is more for your department head than for the deceased, anyway. Just the ceremony and a quick word of sympathy to the bereaved, no need to buy flowers or hang around for a wake or whatever.

Lilty, we were slacking when you were in Elementary School, Richard Linklater as my witness

I find the chicken hat vaguely disturbing.

Very specialized Yosemite Bums, though.

That's who my mom likes, what can I say? And they weren't that specialized early on (at least Muir wasn't, the man tried to walk to the Amazon from Kentucky)

I'm wearing sweatpants and there is no edible food in my fridge! None of my clothes are clean! I'm going to die alone!

I hate to break it to you, but this feeling can come over you at any age.

askye, I'll add to the chorus of saying you should go to the funeral or, if that's going to leave the office too shorthanded, to visitation if they have it. Funerals are for the living.

The funeral is tomorrow so there is no work conflict. There's a visitation tonight that I would feel more comfortable attending, but then at the funeral there would be the other people from my office and not me.

This is so confusing I've never had to deal with anything like this before and I'm very very uncomfortable going to something so personal for someone I barely know (like my boss).

askye, if it were me, I'd attend the visitation. It's less formal, you can catch the people you do know--and give your condolences to your co-worker without sitting through the service and then leave unnoticed.

This is so confusing I've never had to deal with anything like this before and I'm very very uncomfortable going to something so personal for someone I barely know (like my boss).

Thing to remember is that this is a formal gesture of respect. It's not about intimacy, or how well you know your boss. A funeral is a community gesture - they can do their own grieving in private. There are simple etiquette rules to guide you. Particularly in such a small office, it would really stand out for you to not go.