Great news - and rather mundane ones

[wiseheart]

With a 5-day-delay, Baby Emma finally decided to be born. She's a really big baby, 3990 gr and 58 cm - her grandmother promised photos, which I will post later, in a friends-only entry, once they arrive.

The other news are less grand. We went to my cousin's funeral today - the one that was run over by a car - and it was depressing how very few people from the extended family we still know. No-one is left from Mum's generation (other than her, that is), and from us cousins only 5 were present. It was also hot like hell - I wonder if cemeteries schedule funerals at high noon to make more business, should the grieving family lose more members during the ceremony due to heat stroke...

Afterwards, Mum and I decided that it was too hot to cook a meal, plus we were both done in completely. So we went to one of the nearby shopping centers that has excellent air conditioning as well as eateries and had lunch there. I almost wept when we had to leave again.

I've spent 3 hours in the early morning with clearing out my desk so that it could be moved when the Big Painting Job hits the study next Monday. It was a dirty, sweaty job, but at least it's done. I'm so not looking forward to putting everything back in space!

Comments

[akane42me.livejournal.com]

Happy Baby Emma day:) That's great news indeed.

My sympathy for your family about your cousin. It is sad enough to gather a funeral, and to find only a few relatives there.
I had a similar experience a few weeks ago. My first cousin had passed away, and very few people attended the funeral.
It's a small family, granted, but it was hard to see most of the generation before us - our aunts and uncles- are gone now.

I have been wondering - do you have air conditioning in your flat? We had one window unit at our old house, and it saved the day when it got really hot out.
At this new house, we have central air, which is unbelievable! We don't use it much, but this week we are having some hot and very humid weather,
and the cool air is bliss.

I do not envy you your big painting job one iota because it's such a huge amount of horrible dirty work, although it's going to be like a whole new place when it's done!

Who gets to install the wall paper, by the way?

I've been off school and retired for two weeks and have a list of home and garden projects a mile long, and have broken the large tasks into small ones,
such as clean one closet, or wash windows in one room, and have been ticking at least one thing off the list each day. I'm in no hurry:)

Thank goodness pico begins next week. That will be my excuse... yesssss ...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Fourth attempt - let's see if it works.

Yep, it seems to. It ate 3 attempts to reply you, and now I've totally forgotten what I wanted to say. Congratulations to retiring, though, and see you at pico.

[akane42me.livejournal.com]

Thank you:) I'm looking forward to pico!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

So am I, although it's unlikely that I'd get much actual writing done. The Big Painting Job will likely eat the whole month yet, as we need long breaks between the individual turns to put things back to their place. But it will be a pleasant distraction to read the reports and snippets of the others.

[akane42me.livejournal.com]

Reading the comments will be a great way to relax after all the work you've got in store!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

That is very true, and I'm really looking forward to reading them. :)

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

It is sad as the generations fall off at funerals. As my mother's cousin once said "You know you are getting old when you are near the front row at funerals."

But hurrah for good baby news - and for getting the desk cleared - always a major job.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

God, yes, it really was!

[wanderingmogwai.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about the funeral. The last three I've attended were in the rain. I have a profound fear that there will be no one to grieve me when my time is up.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Quite frankly, that thought doesn't disturb me. When my time is up I'll be gone and not worried about whether people would miss me or not. I always say that we should care for each other as long as the other person is still alive - that is when they can still value the sentiment, isn't it?

[wanderingmogwai.livejournal.com]

I agree. You're right. That totally makes sense. I just have a few weird hangups and that is one of them.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

We all have our little oddities - that's what makes life interesting. It would be deadly boring if we were all alike.

[wanderingmogwai.livejournal.com]

:)

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

{{{hugs}}}

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you. *sigh*

[meathiel]

Now that you mention it ... it's true that funerals usually are in the middle of the day ...

Yay for airconditioned shopping centres!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

They are very handy when one doesn't have a/c at home.

[elwenlj.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine having to deal with such heat and the emotions of a funeral. Yuk. I admire your determination re the decorating. At least moving stuff helps you clear out the junk too. I am always amazed at the amount of silly stuff I have collected.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Honestly, what I found disturbing was the almost complete lack of emotion at the funeral. I hardly even knew my cousin, but still, one would expect the immediate family to show a little more grieving. Of course, I was hard-pressed to figure out who exactly belonged to the immediate family, save for her brother and his wife, whom I wouldn't even have recognized, as it has been over 30 years that I last met them.

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about the funeral. They can be upsetting in ways you were not expecting.

[mirasaui.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on baby Emma entering the world, may she have a wonderful and blessed life! Sorry again about your cousin, such a tragic loss.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

The honest truth is, I barely knew my cousin. Her immediate family will have felt the lost more keenly, though.

We have high hopes for Baby Emma, yes, Precioussss!