It's Been a Busy Week

I'm glad that I'm retired now and able to take it easy.

Not.

This week has been hectic, busy, all kinds of things. I've had little or no downtime until I lie down at night, and even then, I read for an hour or more until I can sleep (although I've been sleeping well.) Between both girls moving and all of the plans surrounding the wake and funeral, I've been on my toes. Not stressed at all, but always on the move.

I know that funeral arrangements vary in different parts of the country (not to mention the world), and of course by religion, but last Friday we were at the wake (sometimes called the visitation) from two to four and then again from seven to nine. Saturday morning we were again at the funeral home for an hour and then went in the line of cars to the church for the funeral mass, and then to the cemetery, and then to the repast, which is a luncheon. Because this was really the first death in the Hubs' family for maybe 35 years, it's a chain of events I haven't really gone through before. We're also on alert again because another of his uncles -- he has two left -- is inching towards the end, but this time, I assume, there will be rituals closer to what I know, since this uncle is also Jewish. So that's a funeral with a brief service within a day or two of the actual death, followed by a shiva call, which is a visit to the family home a day or two after that. It's like a wake, but after the fact.

Otherwise, I've been shopping and schlepping with K most of the time. Tomorrow she'll be at work -- she's done with this museum job next week -- and I'll be at her new place waiting for the cable installer. My sister said to me before, "You know, Lincoln emancipated you." And I said, "He will on Saturday."

Saturday. On Saturday, I will begin to re-arrange, to clean, to re-organize everything, the whole house just for the two of us. This is not empty-nest syndrome, oh how sad. This is more like It's about freaking time. I'm really looking forward to this. If only R's bridal shower were behind us, too, but that's August 1. Once that's over, I'm on my own, my time is my own, I can spend my days doing my own stuff, not someone else's. Very cool.