I checked with my HR folks this afternoon before I left for some mental health time, and I'm entitled to three days of bereavement for immediate family, which MILs count as. If the funeral's on a weekday, I'm definitely using it, and I may take Friday if it's Saturday. The Puritan side of me says, "But you don't feel bereaved!" as the decadent part says, "Mini-vacation! Here's to you, Mom!"

Three days would be a god send if I was organizing things, of course, and karmically I don't think I'll abuse it. I've comforted myself by saying it'll look a little odd if I don't take one day after letting them know.

God speed, Iva Neil. connie, taking a day or two is perfectly acceptable, even if you aren't breaking down emotionally bereaved.

Much with the storming today. Much with the sick today. Much with the sleeping today.

beth, I have no fewer than four p-touch labellers. I love them. One even has a USB port so that you can layout and edit labels on a computer and then print them.

You know, it's really weird to think that what you consider a really simple task can be perceived as difficult by people who are intelligent and competent at what they do.

Connie take the full time and consider it a mini vacation. This way you can save your vacation or sick for other stuff.

I rushed home from shopping in order to get home to watch my Lightning play. They aren't. Versus dropped them in favor of the Bruins and Atlanta, which makes since because they are higher up in the standings but damnit! I want to see my boys play (even if they lose). Tomorrow night they are playing Pittsburg and that's not going to be shown (well on CEnter Ice) so I still haven't seen Crosby and Malkin.

And for some reason the color on Versus keeps screwing up and the Thrashers players are turning bright Blue Man Group blue, their skin I mean, which is weird since blue is a Thrashers color and at first I thought it was some werid promotion thing.

Heh. Go Connie, use the bereavement leave. I used a day, even though I was not bereaved. Could've had three, but figured I should not abuse the karma.

And she'd probably die if she saw that, because ugh.

In that case, buy the gift you'd give her anyway, invent prior plans to get out of the shower, give her the gift privately. No sense in the mom-to-be suffering because her friend is a jerk.

And connie, take the full time. You never know what issues or emotions will get dredged up.

The funeral's going to be in Wyoming, because the arrangements for bringing her down to Utah were just too complicated for John, the Neil onsite. And I bet we'll have the funeral Mass, too, which I hope won't be too upsetting for the observant Mormons in the family. For those who don't know, it wasn't that long ago that Mormons were fairly public in their opinion that the Catholic Church was equivalent to the Great Whore of Babylon.

So I'm using the full bereavement time. Hubby has to be back in town on Friday morning for some pre-surgical tests. We're going up Wednesday, the funeral's Thursday, then we drive back. I like Hubby's sister and her daughter, so it won't be a bad trip. Plus it will be the first time I've been out-of-state in too many years (that's damned sad). So here's to you, Mom, you're at least getting me out of town.

Also, for the Catholics/knowledgeable about Catholic stuff, one of the things we found in Mom's stuff is an odd circle of metal with a small crucifix at the top and ten balls around the outside of the circle. I'm wondering if it's some sort of mini-rosary for convenient fiddling with.

Connie, that's exactly what it is -- like a mini-rosary one can use while driving, for instance. (That's how my mom used hers back in the day when she was uber-Catholic.)

t edit Like this, right? [link]