Connie's Corner

Same words, different meaning....

I have been to very few funerals in my life, avoiding them on the excuse that I would rather remember the person as they lived. I guess that made me feel better. It was exactly what I said, an excuse. Since my Jim's passing, I look upon funerals with an entirely different attitude. It's suddenly become very personal. I now know for a fact it is a way to show your respect for the person who has died as well as to show your sympathy for the surviving family. I was just taking the easy way out, and I am really ashamed of myself for all the funerals I should have attended and did not. But I plan to do much better now that I know the truth.

Last Saturday I attended a funeral for a longtime former employer and friend. It was a church funeral, a church Jim and I attended many years but had not been to recently because of his health issues. The service was heartfelt and the music was inspiring. The burial took place at the same cemetery as Jim, and that was hard, but I made it through, and in the end, I felt good about it. I knew what the wife was going through, and I was able to honestly offer my sympathy and understanding. Death and funerals, although they are the same words as before, have an entirely different meaning for me now.

Today at 4:30 was my appointment with the dermatologist. Since I had a melanoma removed in the nineties, my primary care doctor insisted I have a checkup when I had my last physical. I have worried about it all day. It was pouring rain when the time came and seemed like a good excuse to cancel, but I went anyway. I didn't think I had anything to worry about, and as it turned out, maybe yes, maybe no. The doctor had the p.a. take biopsies of two "suspicious" looking moles. She said I was the moliest (is that a word?) person she had seen lately. The moles in question were irregular, teeny tiny black ones. They had to send them off somewhere so I won't know anything for a week or so. She did say I was taking excellent care of my skin...big smile on that one. I treated myself to Wendy's chili on the way home. I love that stuff!

until next time...c