Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Little recap

I don’t know about you, but despite the crappy weather I had a somewhat pleasant weekend. We had the Fundraiser Dinner at a friend’s restaurant, 18 people showed up. It was a nice dinner overall and the owner/friend handed me a cheque for $85.51 as a donation for “Relay for Life” – their contribution, i.e. 10% of the sales of our group, not bad at all!

My mother had invited me to accompany her to her league’s (bowling) party. It was funny to see how proud she was to have me there with her. Her younger brother (who’s 61) and his wife were in town for a visit, so they attended as well. We had a really average dinner, followed by awards for the best of the league. My mom won the best average for women, the best average during the finals, the most square – she won six awards total, talk about “her moment”! Then the dancing started. O.M.G. I must say it sure was nice to see all those old folks dancing, being so full of life, even those who had a hard time getting to the dance floor. By 10pm I had my fill, so made it known to my mother and we left. During that time, Hubby was catching up with his old university buddies, celebrating their 25th year reunion since their Bachelor. His thing was a full evening, sleep over and breakfast. Unlike me, he enjoyed his dinner and the dancing/music. Both of us slept like crap though, for some reason. He met me at my mom’s and we made our way home, home sweet home.

Last night, I had another little reunion myself. I met up with some friends from high school for dinner and made our way to the funeral home. The family seemed to be over the big shock of MC’s sudden death. There were many people among which were many local personalities. She worked as a script and was quite liked in “the milieu”. It was weird to see pictures from our last dinner together being displayed the whole time we were there. It still feels unreal then I think of it… Life has really no mercy.

One thing for sure, I’d love to go the way she did. A week or so prior she had complained about pain in her sternum area. She even went to see her doctor and was told it might have been some digestive problems. The day she died, she told her husband she must have had eaten something bad, because she felt sick and was coming home early. On her way, as she got of the highway, she lost consciousness hit a wall with her car and died. The officers on the scene said she was dead by the time she hit the wall. I just think it’s a great way to go. Yes it sucks for those left behind, but for her, wow. I don’t think I’m afraid of dying, but I really don’t want to suffer. I feel I’ve contributed enough to the pain back to go with as little as possible… Unlike some people, I don’t need the pain to know I’m alive. I feel enough as is, I don’t need any extra, but like many other things in this life, we don’t really choose the way we go now do we?

7 comments:

Attila the Mom said...

I'm so sorry that you lost your friend. I hate thinking about how I'm going to go. On one hand, I'd hate to suffer something drawn out, but on the other, I'd like a little notice so I can wrap up all the loose ends, ya know?

Glad you got to spend some time with your mom!

flurrious said...

I'm not worried about the afterlife part, but the very end of the life part is a little scary. In her way, your friend was lucky, terrible as it is for the people she left behind.

kara said...

no, but i think deep down we struggle with wanting it to be clean and orderly with all our ducks in a row or a blaze of glory. honestly, i wouldn't be able to decide if someone asked me my preference.

Site manager said...

Woo Hoo for your mom!

Sorry about your friend, I think about that kind of thing a lot. I passed a terrible accident Monday on the highway and it was obvious that one of the drivers didn't make it, so I start thinking about that even more, that you never know and any day could be our last. sigh. I want to go quickly and painlessly, and honestly the whole thing scares me.

stinkypaw said...

ATM: Thanks. Even for that you'd want to leave in order, admirable!

flurrious: Totally agree with you (once again).

Kara: lol, I like the "blaze of glory" idea ;-)

Grail: She was so proud! We are so tough and yet so fragile...

Charlie said...

Sudden death, especially at a young age, is always shocking and reminds us that we are all mortal.

My maternal grandmother passed the best way of all--in her sleep.

And I'm wondering if kara, who it appears would like to go out with a blaze of glory, would also prefer a Viking funeral.

Jane Doe said...

Aren't older people a hoot? Although your mom doesn't sound that old. It's a good reminder of how much every single day counts.

I've had lots of family die, but none suddenly. You are so right, it would be easier on the person, but more difficult on their family.