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What a rollercoaster ride...and it still isn't over. I can't seem to catch my breath with all the details, and stuff that needs to be handled. The following morning, after Mom passed, the Man and I got up and made our journey to Chapel of the Hills to set the funeral steps in motion.
I'd already been warned that funeral homes can be a "tough sell" and prey on people who are emotionally drained. I was ready. If they wanted to "eff" with me, they were going to be in for a big surprise because I wasn't taking crap from ANYONE! What a relief to be met by a pleasant woman named Kate. She instantly put us at ease and asked the right questions. When it came time to pick a casket, she took us to a moderate sided room and waved at one wall and said this is the least expensive and if work your way around the room in this direction (sweeping left) it gets more expensive. You can choose a package deal, or we can piece it together to see what comes out cost effective for you. I waited. I knew she was going to let us have it with the "Your Mom would want the most expensive casket" speech. She just stared back at me. I asked her "So we just start here?" and she replied "Yes". Then went on to say, "if you don't mind, I have a couple of phone calls to make. Why don't you take your time, discuss your options together and when you're ready, meet me in the conference room and we'll pull it all together". Huh? In a way, I was let down, cuz I really wanted to blow off some steam and she would've been the perfect victim, but she was depriving me of that release by being so damned nice.
She left, and we chose a casket called the "Meridian", a beautiful wooden dark cherry casket that looked rich in color but not too bad on the pocket book. We went back to the conference room and told her our choice and proceeded with the rest of the arrangements. However, we still had to purchase a plot, so we made our appointment with the Auburn Cemetary. All in all, the whole process could've been so much worse than it was (i.e. still is, because I'm not done).
People have been pretty cool about the whole thing, except for this jerk I work with. I went to work for 3 half days, and she proceeded to block me into my cubicle and drill me about Mom. How are things, how is she, etc..when this woman doesn't have two words for me any other time. I told her "Mom's dead", to which she replies, "Oh well you must not have been close if you're here and not crying". I wanted to kick her ass 6 ways from Sunday! I said, "Yes, we were close but the funeral isn't till next week and I have a couple of things to take care of here. What do you want?" She starts talking about her Dad's death, and I told her, "Look...I don't want to talk about this stuff, or I'll start crying, so either talk about work, or go away". WTF??? Some people are so obtuse.
Anyway, I'll blog again soon. Gotta get back to the family stuff.
