Issue #48 Gaffes And In-Laws
And…
This used to be on the cover of my first book.
People tend to think it’s either hilarious or in very poor taste.
(Or both.)
Anyone who knew my mother-in-law thinks it’s pretty funny.
One night, my husband and I were sitting in our living room, where, tucked beneath her antique Victrola, and next to her beloved Steinway, was a plain gray box containing our dear Sue.
Him: “That ugly gray box. And on the floor too. It doesn’t feel right.”
Me: “I can try to find a better container.”
Pause.
Me: “She loved Tupperware…”
Pause.
Guilty side eye from me.
We burst out laughing.
But it was true. She really did love Tupperware.
She adored anything that helped keep her surroundings nice and tidy.
Lots of people choose to be cremated after death but not everyone is clear about what should happen to those “cremains”.
I have been surprised by how many readers have responded to this specific poem/comic with a resounding “Thank you for this!” “We too have no idea what to do with her/him/them!”
One generally has two choices – scatter the ashes somewhere or keep them in a container and delegate a “custodian”.
Sue wasn’t really clear about her wishes. We could have sprinkled her but that didn’t feel right. I think we probably weren’t ready to let her go.
After that conversation, I found a pretty ceramic urn so that we could at least free her from the industrial, and surprisingly impersonal, container provided by the funeral home.
And we swapped the floor for a nice high spot in the living room.
A vantage point that allows her to see all the places I don’t dust regularly enough.
Come to think of it, that might be more of a punishment than an upgrade.
She hated dust.
Copyright© 2024 Anne Morse Hambrock All rights reserved.
Blooming!
Bonus Image
Look at that face.
It wants pizza.
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I appreciate the feedback and knowing how often I have struck a chord with your lives.
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