I’m giving away a pretty serious secret here…one I’m not sure I should be divulging.

When I was younger, I always thought men’s and women’s holiday dinner roles were so unfair. After the shared meal, the men get to sit and watch football while the women do the dishes. It always seemed like the women got the short end of the stick. After cooking for the majority of the day, the grandmas, aunts and older cousins lined up in the kitchen to wash, rinse and dry. It seemed unfair…until I became one of them.

My mom taught me well–I’ve been a dishwasher since I was old enough to reach the sink. But, it wasn’t until recently that I began to realize the magic of the secret society of post-holiday dinner dishwashers.

(more…)

My grandmother’s funeral was last weekend. Traveling to Nevada to attend and leaving my camera behind have prevented regular posts here. Luckily, Mom was able to send the photos I took while I was there.

The funeral was Saturday. Mom asked me to write a bit about Grandma for the pastor. Somehow, that turned into me giving the eulogy. In addition to her history, I had plenty of material; I was so flooded with memories and emotion when she died, I started writing it all down. Piecing together a eulogy that was both suitable for public and something I could read without sobbing hysterically was the hard part.

Grandma had Alzheimer’s for 19 years. She was really bad (basically nonverbal with absolutely no recollection of who she was, much less who we were) for about the last 6 of those. During that time, we all said goodbye in some way. When she passed, we knew it was for the best–she was finally at peace. None of that made things any easier though.

I’m not trying to idolize my grandmother when I say she was the very best woman. She was insanely generous and incredibly smart. She loved her family and every student she taught. She was a saint…I can seriously offer you no fault other than maybe her blind love or her selfless nature.
(more…)