I was not looking forward to the visitation or the funeral but both were really quite nice. I spent two days scanning pictures of Mom and they played in the back of the church for people to see. With Mom being cremated, I much prefer the slideshow of pictures - it seemed much more of a celebration of life than seeing an embalmed body in a coffin.
The outpouring of support from friends and family has been very much appreciated. Those who knew Mom years ago remembered her humor and liveliness. In looking through the pictures of the past it's very saddening to see how much the Lupus took out of her in the past twenty years. Living with systemic lupus for twenty years, however, is quite remarkable.
My friends have been amazing... I started listing all the great things they did but realized I would most certainly leave something out and then feel bad. Several of my former students from Kaplan who became friends also sent flowers and came to the visitation/funeral. Let's just say I'm really lucky to have such amazing friends.
This experience made me realize how much I need an American credit card. One friend - Sandy (who comments on the blog) - sent a huge plant and planned to come down from Minneapolis. I talked her out of it because I didn't want her traveling so far when I'd have so little time to talk to her. Sandy lost both of her parents while I've been in Emirates. I wanted to send a plant but couldn't without the American credit card. I wasn't sure if I could even get one having destroyed my credit back in 2007-2008. The good news is that I was able to get one and I didn't even have to put down a security deposit or pay an annual fee. Maybe my credit isn't quite as bad as I feared.
The bright spot of the past week is all the reconnecting I've made with old friends. It's unfortunate that it took these circumstances to make it happen but I am a really lucky guy to have a wonderful support network. This is something I need to remind myself of when I feel depressed.
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