Susan is a lovely lady. Retired from Delta airlines, she has a wonderful home in Kentucky. From the pictures of the place you can see that a great deal of care and love has gone into the landscape and design of the home. A home that was enjoyed while she was working and now, in retirement, a home to be comfortable in as she putters around and lovingly cares for building and grounds. I don't mean, however, that Susan is doddering in her old age. She is hardly old. Retirement was 'early' for her. She has served her years, going up the ladder of success, attaining new heights. She could retire, but she really didn't want to do so. Not yet, anyway. She loved her work.
But, her father needed care. He lived in Northeast Ohio and was in his 90s. He had gotten to the point to where he couldn't live by himself any longer. Mostly he was OK, but someone needed to to be there at least daily to make sure of medicines and meals and that sort of things. And, more importantly, to keep him apprised of the tip off times for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Susan considered the job she loved and the home she treasured, took a deep breath and retired from the job, locked then house and moved home to be with her aged father.
And this was where I met her.
Caring for her Dad was not a full time endeavor and she needed something to occupy some time. Not one to sit at home and knit, she wanted something that she could dive into and help people. Her cousin's wife worked in the office of the funeral home I worked in, so one thing led to another and Susan was soon working for us. Not everyone can work for a funeral home. Sometimes working with people all the time who are in grief gets to a person. Women, especially, are emphatic to the point to where they feel the grief pain of others and they can only handle the job for so long. Susan, however, took to it like a duckling takes to water. Quickly, she became part of the team, and a valued part of the team, at that. She often worked visitations and funerals at the facility that I managed and we worked well together. When it came time for me to leave to go to Indiana and the Urbana Yoke Parish, Susan was genuinely sad.
Everything this week has distressed me. Canceling services on Sunday started it. While I certainly saw the need, I just hated to see us cancel. But, if someone had slid off the road and been stranded in sub-zero cold, that would have been horrific. The visitation and funeral for Marilyn Miller on Monday and Tuesday didn't help.Then the news of New York State's new abortion law and various other political maneuverings that are incredibly bad for the country. Along with all of that, I was looking for a particular video on You Tube and came across a channel that is all about posting videos of female newscasters and talking heads crossing their legs while wearing short skirts. Carla Krom told me once I was kind of geeky, and I suppose I am, and I might even be a bit prudish, but what kind of pervert tapes news shows and then goes back and takes out the short segments of women crossing their legs and posts those segments. And, knowing that this is happening, what kind of women continue to wear the short skirts? That channel would not exist if women, who complain about being sexually objectified, would wear a longer dress or skirt or even pants. And there are other things, as well. But it has not been a pleasant week.
Susan has a real sense of humor. Thursday afternoon I opened up the internet, allowing myself to drop in a foul mood, and I came across a posting from Susan. It is a cartoon, to which I am always ready to read. The cartoon is situated in a funeral home. Two women stand next to the casket and are looking in on a third lady, the deceased, as she lays in state. The casket, as it happens, is clear. The lid is open. One lady says to the other, "Lydia would have been so proud. She loved Tupperware."
To you, that probably isn't funny. To me, though, it recalled the first time I worked with Susan. It was before a visitation and I was walking her through the funeral home and explaining things. It was all very serious and dignified. I had a tendency to get quite serious when I was training someone. The last stop was the casket. I made some adjustments, explaining what I was doing and why I was doing it. Susan was quiet and watchful, not really knowing what she could and could not say around me. The walk through was over as we stood by the casket. "Susan, do you have any questions?" "Just one. Do they make clear caskets? You know, like Tupperware?" She caught me off guard and I laughed out loud. After that, anytime we worked together she would hit me with a joke at some point during the proceedings. Unexpected and always at the wrong time, but it made working with her a lot of fun. I think she would do it to me when she felt I was taking things to seriously.
So, as an emotionally draining week was drawing down (and it seems everything about my life right now is emotionally draining) I read that cartoon. It made me laugh out loud, something I do very little of anymore. I have been taking myself way to seriously of late, and I am sorry for that. There is so much to enjoy and to laugh about. Some times we need an old friend to remind us that life is really pretty grand. Some times we just need to look in a mirror to get a good laugh. We shouldn't be so serious minded. That is why the world is so easily offended these days. Lighten up!
And while you are at it, go to https://www.tupperware.com/ and check out those new caskets.