Because most philosophies that frown on reproduction don't survive.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Funeral follies

There's nothing more frustrating than driving your family (including your three small daughters five and under) 400 miles to a funeral than discovering that children aren't really wanted at the funeral, and that the family has already taken the precaution of hiring a babysitter so that the kids won't disturb everyone at the funeral.

Unless it's sitting coldly through the funeral at the very back of the church trying desperately to keep your children under radio silence, and feeling furious that you made this long trip with your family in the first place, and fuming about the blatant hypocrisy of a desire for no children at the funeral of a woman who had eleven children and more than forty grandchildren

UNLESS it's discovering that the whole thing was a misunderstanding and that it was your own mother who arranged getting a babysitter, and then badgered you about putting your kids in babysitting because she thought everyone else was doing it and it was her mother's funeral anyway and she didn't want the kids to distract everyone.

I suppose one should be grateful that you never have to attend the same funeral twice.

4 comments:

Julie D. said...

Oy veh! Sounds just like the sorts of mental machinations I put myself through all the time ... and then wind up kicking myself. :-)

Anonymous said...

Deepest sympathies ... both on the passing of your grandmother and on what you described. :(

Anonymous said...

That is pretty bizarre. I thinkk it is a healthy thing to have ENTIRE families at family events. Including funerals.

David L Alexander said...

I always say, funerals and weddings bring out both the best and the worst in anyone -- these days I've been noticing the worst -- so I never go to either alone. I hope they served lunch.