The up side of funerals

Despite the long and arduous 2 days giving Alan's mother a proper send off, not all was sad and perplexing. Funerals give you the opportunity to see people you don't stay in touch with and would like to. I see most of Alan's siblings fairly regularly, at least in the cyber world. But I do have a fondness for his in laws-specifically, the ex in laws. Mike is one of the most grounded person I know, great father, and a huge support to Sandy when dealing with all this. I am so glad to see they have a mutually agreeable relationship and perhaps have an opportunity to socialize with him He also has the most understanding of this crazy family. The other i really enjoy is Veronique. She is sweet, kind, and doing her best to raise 3 girls while trying to establish herself in a late career (spent most of her life raising children), She hails from France but lives here now. Has raised 3 beautiful girls who i want to get to know better, There was not many funny stories in the Adams family growning up. It was filled with hard farm life, praying for rain, and feeding the 6 kids, as well as various farm hands. I did however have a funny exchange with Alan's cousins, Gloria and Angie. Their mother is now in a nursing home-not quite always there, but checks into reality on occasion. Angie tells me her mother is one of very few who has visitors. Whe she brought her mother a pizza, she was almost taken down by a walker yielding granny looking for a break from cream of wheat and mashed potatoes. When her and her fiance were leaving the nursing home, they were surrounded by hovering senior citizens, moving ever so closer to the locked front door. Some old lady in a wheel chair stuck her foot in the door..in hopes of a quick escape. Angie reported it to the nurses station-she consulted her list of excapees which includes pics and their m.o's. Sad, but kinda funny..I think if you put that much effort, hell, take em to Denny's for a Grand Slam breakfast.

death's aftermath

I spent the day in beautiful southern Maryland being a support for Alan and dealing with the plans for his mother;s funeral service. We met at the church, a St.Mary's landmark, home of the Little FLower school where Alan and all his brothers and sisters attended. The details were ironed out..interestingly, the priest is attempting to make the service very personal. He shared with the family how kind she was and how much she loved her cat. Excuse me, but Alan' mother hated that cat. We have no clue how he came to this conclusion..then again, he had a 50 percent chance of being right. We took a side trip to his mother's house, which has been neglected in her absence since summer. It is cluttered with photos, bills, scraps of important papers, old videos, the list goes on. She was somewhat of a pack rat..saved everything. On the up side of this, she had clips of her oldest son's first haircut and Alan's composition book from 6th grade. It will take weeks, even months to sort it all out. Which it looks like it falls to Alan's youngest brother, who was given all of her property, house, and belongings. Yeah, I have an issue with this. Her kids were good to her and I would have at least expected to see some sort of acknowledgment in her will of her OTHER 4 children-some of which were there for her and loved her. What a crazy world we live in. All I can say is wait until the tax bills come in.

crazy snapshot of life

It has been a roller coaster ride this week. We just wrapped up field hockey this week with a final game in the pouring rain. It was senior night, which involves posters, balloons, announcements, cream of crab soup (chesapeake high school tradition), large plaques, programs, the list goes on. There is a team dinner at the most expensive restaurant in the 'dena to give awards to the players. It also involves christmas ornaments for all the players, a slide show, and senior blankets. Do I need to go on? And did I mention there is no money in the kitty of any of this? I heard the money was spent last year on a scholarship (thats good) and pandora bracelets for seniors (thats bad). Maddie's Cupcake Wars was this week. Wow..what talent! And the kitchen was no worse for the wear. Everyone did a phenomenal job. And as we close out the week, Alan's mom has joined George Robert. She had been very ill and in alot of pain that could not be controlled. It is difficult for the sons and daughter, but her physical well being has gone downhill since the summer. i also think she gave up and as she told Alan last week..."I am ready to get out of here'" She lived a tough life, raising 6 kids, maintaining a farming life, and dealing with life's tragedies. I don't think she ever left the kitchen in the earlier years I knew her. She will be missed by her family. One funny moment worth mentioning..I had gone to St. Mary's County one weekend to bring her to our house for a visit. I got about halfway up the road when a woman stupidly pulled in front of me and I hit her. Yes, the only car accident I have ever had and it had to be with my mother in law in the car. needless to say, she didn't come home with me..she had her son pick her up and take her home. Rest in Peace Mary Adams.

the busy season begins

I love this time of year...weather is glorious, leaves are ablazing, and it begins the busiest time of year for most. Maddie turns 14 on Monday as we launch the season. Being the great party hosts we are, Maddie is doing another top notch event..Cupcake Wars. Last year, we did Top Chef Pasadena. 12 girls participated..3 teams of 4. They did an appetizer, entree, and dessert. It went as smoothly as one could expect with 12 girls in your kitchen, except maybe having someone pour a pot of oil down the sink. This year, we will avoid that. We are doing Cupcake Wars. Girls will be doing 2 rounds...one is a single cupcake for flavor, the final is 3 cupcakes with taste and appearance. Let the games begin. Halloween follows close behind. Guess I better put a spider up or something. Then we have my birthday, where we throw a huge dance party. This a tawdry event...shots, dancing, barfing in the wood pile, sex acts in the bathroom (you know who you are)...as one guest remarked "This is like seniors gone wild".... Then there's Thanksgiving..a big event for the Burns family. Followed by Christmas, which we have no memory of from last year as I mentioned previously. Whew.... Off to buy fondant, homecoming accessories, and fix Andrew's glasses...he's home as well...

high school sports

I am deep into the field hockey season at the local high school and I walked in as a high school sports virgin. My extra curricular activities with Andrew were always music and drama. That's pretty straight forward...rehearsal time a couple of time a week, some costume requests, and 3 performances. This has been a whole different ball game. Practice 5-6 days a week, in between games. We are responsible for supplying treat bags for your 'big sister'-someone on varsity, as they supply one for you on game day. I was just given 25 fundraiser cards to sell..its a lottery thing. Yes, 25. And no, I have no desire to stand out in front of a grocery store begging people to buy them. We have texas roadhouse fundraiseer. And to top all this off, we do team dinners once a week...girls (19 in all) come to your house or you go to the field and supply dinner for all of them. Fortunately, a varsity mother stepped up and we did it in the cafeteria...quick and easy. I realize sports and the arts are the least funded in public schools and this certainly seems to emphasize the point. I don't remember any of this when I was in high school. Then again, I think I did bowling.

viewings

Really? I have viewings of my page? Who would that be? My mother most likely....and maybe she views 95 times a month to make me feel good. Thanks Mom. So, we headed to the Fells Point Fun Fest this weekend, which is always a fun fest of great music, quirky people, and an arrays of creative folks selling their wares. It was a chilly day, cloudy, little rain..couldn't tell that with some women wearing a bootie dress (better not bend over), stillettos, and some pink fur thing to keep her arms warm. I also liked a sighting of llama fur leg warmers Guess her calves were warm. It seems to grow larger and larger in size. But then again, crafters can pay a good size fee and sell their creative...uh...stuff. I wasn't really sure about the dog leashes you wrap around your waist. Or the cell phone pocket pack. It looked like someone ripped the pocket off of a safari jacket and attached a hook on it so you could hang your cell phone onto your pants. Sorta like a pocket size fanny pack. I threatened my daughter with buying one, and pairing it with a nice pair of 'shape ups' tennis shoes. She walked away very quickly. The up side is great second hand bargains...found a solid cherry table for 15.00. and LP's for a buck a piece. granted, I don't have a turntable, but a small detail. Our good family friend from Florida joined us-always good to connect with long time friends. Even if they are Republican.