I’d like to start today’s post by wishing Le Duke lots of luck tonight at his CD release party. Hold on a second I think I have a flyer for it…ah, here we go:

You should go and cheer on Le Duke for me. Also, buy a CD. Anyways, break a leg Duke!

Yesterday was exhausting. It was a day of putting on a brave face and dealing with the death of my grandmother. Sure, I wasn’t very close to her, but being here and seeing the impact she had on those near to her was pretty remarkable. During the course of the day, from the viewing, to the funeral mass, to the reception, to the family hangout at my aunt and uncle’s house, I found myself making these little observations. I wish now I had written them all down, but I was trying not to draw attention to myself. Making notes at a funeral draws attention to oneself.

I would like to share a few of my observations, those that I can remember, with you now:

The church was beautifully built.

The priest smiled to himself ever-so-slightly when he broke the giant Jesus wafer perfectly in two.

Grandma, like other dead people, looks like she is made of wax.

My aunt and uncle look relieved for this to be finally over. Like they are glad she has finally been laid to rest. No suffering, no pain for her. Her 95th birthday party to be held in Heaven.

The tension in the family is thick enough to make you break a sweat.

Sitting still makes me even fartier than usual. This is awkward when in close proximity to family members you don’t know very well.

That’s all I can remember. I’m sure I’ll have more seeing as how we are repeating the family time, on slightly smaller scale, today. Hopefully we’ll able to sneak in trips to World Market, Ikea, and the Container Store during this adventure. Not that I need to spend any money right before I leave the country for a week.

Well, I guess I’d better go shovel down some powdered eggs before we get this party started again. More soon. ~SC