Rituals and Tradition

     
            Today I went to the funeral for my friend Mary's mom. Mary is one of 13 children!!! I met Mary at college when I was 17 years old.  Everyone has those friends that "just don't age!"  Mary and her husband Tom look exactly the same as when they got married!! Her brother gave the eulogy and it was so sweet and so funny! I just can't imagine having that many siblings! While I was sitting at the Mass service, I was thinking about rituals and traditions.  Do we have funerals and christenings and graduations because they are our rites of passage in life?  I wonder who started the first funeral or the first christening or first graduation!  The funeral I went to today was certainly a wonderful end of life passage. Mary's mother did so many wonderful things in life and was very religious.  She got her teaching degree AFTER having 13 kids!! I am sure she is with God, if that is what happens when people die. I really am banking on a God but not 100% certain. At the grave site, I didn't want to take a chair because there were so many family members.  They kept telling me to sit down so I finally did. I think people feel bad for me when they see my walker, it is just part of my life now.
           My friends Jackie/Bill and Carol donated the $5 bills and included  a lot of their own money to St. Jude's Hospital  in Amy's memory.  This is what they wrote:  Please accept the enclosed check for $200 to St Jude's Research Hospital.  This donation is made in loving memory of Miss Amy Fledderman.  She was a wonderful young woman and it is an honor to be able to make this contribution in her name.  Thank you for all of the wonderful work that you do!(Do I have the greatest friends or what?)
         Dan finally got our electric bill situated.  At the Auto Show Olivia signed us up for Green Energy Electric. She definitely did not know what she was signing.  Dan said that "Life is always interesting with Olivia in it."  She started working at her new salon job on Thursday.  Four of the young women there are from Ukraine.  That is quite a coincidence! Everyone  gets hired by the owner, I guess he definitely has a "type."  He must like the Eastern European look! They are all beautiful young woman!

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