That's funny, because I started one in response to Rowanlove, but then decided it was too nasty (re GG), and I don't want to alienate their fans; I want to keep them.

Off to check.

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Thanks for all the good thoughts and vibes, folks. And the punctuation. I needed it more than I had expected.

Man oh man. Family sure is tiring. Forcibly squelching my desire to (1) be a bitch, and/or (2) flee the drama, is REALLY tiring.

The family is coping rather well, actually, each in their own way. Caretaker!Aunt is being a massive control freak and vaguely insulting, Other!Aunt is getting a little verbally pugilistic, and my mom slammed down 3 beers in rapid succession after lunch. The irony of my granddad's 50-year history of alcoholism was not lost on her.

Not that I'm judging Mom's beer-drinking ways; I have a pizza on the way and a bottle of wine in the fridge just waiting for me.

The funeral and visitation are on Saturday, one after the other. It all starts at 8 fucking o'clock in the morning. I am rather less than pleased about that. I'm doing at least one of the Scripture readings at the funeral, possibly more, because the rest of the family members don't like public speaking. I grew up doing the Scripture readings at Mass every week, so this doesn't feel like "public speaking" to me, and anyway, it's only family, so there's no reason to be nervous.

We're having a bagpiper at the cemetery -- right now the musical choices are "Amazing Grace" (which I truly and unashamedly love) and "Danny Boy" (my granddad's last name is McCarthy -- "Danny Boy" is practically in our DNA). I don't expect there to be a dry eye in sight when the bagpiper starts.

Man, I'm edgy right now. I actually worked out when I got home from Mom's, and now I'm considering undertaking significant housecleaning, just to burn off this edginess.

And that pizza needs to get here, pronto.

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{{Tep}}

Bagpipers at funerals are guaranteed to break me. Which is good. Good luck dealing with all your relatives coping strategies.

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Bagpipers at funerals are guaranteed to break me. Which is good. Good luck dealing with all your relatives coping strategies.

What -t said. {{{Tep}}}}

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We're having a bagpiper at the cemetery -- right now the musical choices are "Amazing Grace" (which I truly and unashamedly love) and "Danny Boy" (my granddad's last name is McCarthy -- "Danny Boy" is practically in our DNA). I don't expect there to be a dry eye in sight when the bagpiper starts.

For Dad, we had a piper play Amazing Grace as we left the church, and Danny Boy at the end of the internment at the grave. There were no dry eyes.

The funeral and visitation are on Saturday, one after the other. It all starts at 8 fucking o'clock in the morning. I am rather less than pleased about that. I'm doing at least one of the Scripture readings at the funeral, possibly more, because the rest of the family members don't like public speaking. I grew up doing the Scripture readings at Mass every week, so this doesn't feel like "public speaking" to me, and anyway, it's only family, so there's no reason to be nervous.

Ooof. 8:00am. Was your grandfather Catholic? I tell Scott all the time, I think Roman Catholicism has it all over most of Protestantism, when it comes to ceremony (particularly funerals), but their funerals are too damned early.

Do you know what scripture passage(s) you'll be reading, Tep?

The family is coping rather well, actually, each in their own way. Caretaker!Aunt is being a massive control freak and vaguely insulting, Other!Aunt is getting a little verbally pugilistic, and my mom slammed down 3 beers in rapid succession after lunch. The irony of my granddad's 50-year history of alcoholism was not lost on her.

Your Caretaker!Aunt's reaction seems common (to me) among the caretaker shaped people. It's probably the same elements that make them able to be the caretakers, manifesting under stress and loss.

I hope you all are able to feel some peace, soon.

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Coping~ma and Shopping~ma for everyone!

It is quite an adventurous and stressful thing to drive off into the unknown armed with directions printed from Mapquest. Thank goodness I finally found Nicole and she could navigate the way back. The Coors Brewery is a fun tour and the weather is really really really scorching hot.

Nicole is going to do her nails now. I might have to freshen up my pedicure while she's at it.

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Tep, my thoughts are with you and your family during this time.

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I'm now sharing some turkey jerky with my kitty. She sure is greedy!

Kittenish gets that way too. She'd quite like some of the bbq'd chicken in the fridge. I know this because I open the fridge and her nose is immediately inside and she yowls.

In case anyone wonders what Christopher watches on TV with Owen, the boy just came up to me and said, "Poker Star dot net."

Heh. Kids tell the bigger bipeds all the other biped's secrets. It's fun for the audience at least.

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Teppy - peace to you and yours.

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I think one of the first things Chris said was "PBS dot com".

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Teppy - I'm so sorry for your loss.

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