Saturday, December 1, 2018

Why Does Everybody Have to Die at Christmastime?

Well, I am certainly feeling all the feelings tonight.

In this past week, we've been to three funerals, including my mother-in-law's a week ago today and a good friend's funeral today.  And then there's the fact that three of my four grandparents died this time of year.  So did my dad.

Mike, whose funeral we attended today, was our age--a child of the 60's and the early 70's and a full-on rock-and-roller.  He used to jam with our son Q.  They also played a few gigs together,  including one at a tombstone cutters' convention.  (Mike and his family own Salt Lake Monument.)  When I visited Mike a few days before he died, his wife, Angela, had the Beatles playing softly in the background.  Not a bad soundtrack.

The last line of his obituary said he was preceded in death by George Harrison and John Lennon.

Well done, Michael Ellerbeck.

2 comments:

Megan Goates said...

Theory: they want to go home for Christmas.

My dad died late December 23 last year and I knew it was because a) he didn’t want to wreck our Christmas by dying on it and b) he was tired and he just wanted to go home.

Hugs for all this funeral-attending, Ann xo

Lauren said...

My next door neighbor's husband died on Christmas Eve 7 years ago (she's in her 80s). I didn't know that and our first Christmas here, my brother and his wife couldn't make it for our Eve dinner, but we found out last minute. We didn't want the good food to go to waste so invited this neighbor to join us (and my parents and grandmothers who we'd planned on). She said sure, didn't say a thing to us about what that day meant to her and didn't say much about why she wasn't with her children. The Christmas Eves since she's been with family.
It was one of those few times in my life where I felt like I actually got that little nudge and did the right thing.
The holidays: all the feels.
xoxo