Saturday the Thirteenth

Thoughts this morning are of time passing. Here's a song to go with it: Willie Nelson "Funny How Time Slips Away".

Part of today is going to be what my family calls "soggy". Today I'll be attending the funeral of my ex mother-in-law; my children's grandmother.

I last saw her at my son's wedding in March of 2013. She had finally lost the weight she struggled with all those years while she was in her prime. She looked absolutely wonderful. I remember how I thought she had shrunk (we all get shorter as we age). She was still the poised, graceful matron. Socially at ease. Her first words to me were "you look incredibly like Bill's mother". I watched the shock in her face when she saw that yes, I'm Bill's mother. [Family genetics being what they are - mine ages well.]


We spoke of insignificant things and promised to get together at some vague point in the future. Isn't that just what we do? Promise to get together. Then the business of living intrudes and we put it off. We get together at funerals and weddings. Family reunions.

When I think of Muriel visions of her at a younger age flash through my mind. Snatches of conversations. Not a lot of laughter. She used to say that when Leo (her husband) passed that she was going to go to South America or the Caribbean and buy herself a cabana boy to give her back-rubs. She could be quite the bawdy lady. But she was always a lady. I'll remember that about her. Just as I'll remember that she was my grandmothers best friend.

Death affects us all in different ways. While I'm sad at Muriel's passing, I'm looking forward to seeing people that I haven't seen in years. In re-connecting with them.

In these days of connectivity there's no excuse not to be in touch with old family and friends. Remember the old television commercial jingle: Reach out. Reach out and touch someone. Last summer I reached out and touched someone: my father. I left a message on my uncle's answering machine and my dad called me back. I was so nervous. I wasn't sure what to say. Afraid of being rejected. Now we've been corresponding via email for almost a year. Last Sunday we used Skype for the first time. Technology is amazing, isn't it?

The point? Don't be afraid. If you want to rekindle an old friendship just do it. Do it today. You may not have tomorrow.