Have you ever had to bury a love one recently? My 96 year-old grandmother-in-law past away in August 2009. She was a great woman who accepted me like a fish, hook-line-and-sinker.
It was my first funeral as an young adult. Her 70 plus-year-old son, honored me with the duty of pall-bearer.
At her open casket wake, she proudly wore her favorite sky blue dress with white flowers. She even picked a sky-blue casket with silver trim that matched her silver glasses. She did have style.
Since this was my first funeral as an young adult, I was excepting a lot of tears, falling-out or loud praises and long speeches. I listened in on the conversations people were having between the giving of “heart-felt sympathy” and “sorry for your loss.” However, as I sat in a chair, the experience was more like a small family and friend reunion in Hafemeister’s Funeral Hall.
As people stood 10 feet away from grandma, discussions were on topics such as…
- Coupons
- Vacation time
- Plans to make a million dollars
- Gun Control
- Feeding cats
I guess everyone copes differently. But for the most part, I reflected on the letters she hand-wrote on my birthday and the Thanksgiving dinner we had at my sister-in-law’s house. After dinner, she and I walked arm-and-arm around the complex to burn off the calories of turkey, cornbread, green beans, and mash potatoes.
She was 96 years old and was in great health for 95.8 years. It was not like she was a young person who suddenly feel ill and slid unknowingly to the arms of the upper-taker. For two month, it was a well-known fact that the obituary notice would have to be printed.
In every experience, I try to learn something. What I learned through this event is that I’m definitely going to be cremated. I want some of my ashes placed in a custom made Novica Art Collection urn. The rest are to be sprinkled at my favorite vacation spots, like on the famous cliffs of Moher in Ireland, on the Alaskan iceberg where I went dog-sledding, in the Mayan ruins of Cancun and hopefully one day in outer-space.
However, since I’m involved in investment property real estate, I receive the inevitable question of real estate. Here’s the…
7 Questions To Ask Before You Sell Grandmas’ House
- Did you talk to grandma before she passes away to understand her wishes?
- What does the will state?
- Are their any siblings involved and if so, who is the appointed lead person?
- Have you been on the county property assessors website to find out the full cash value?
- Will you have an appraisal done by an appraiser?
- The property is more than likely paid for, yet are there any open home-equity lines or tax liens attached to the home?
- Don’t ask me how much I think it’s worth, have you talked to the local neighborhood Realtor?
More important than anything else, I learned that it is important to work on creating more fun and enjoyable days in your life. Focus on creating happy memorable moments.
Take more fun family videos and pictures, like a young Grandma Mildred in Hawaii. Smile more. Enjoy your day, even the bad ones. Eat, drink and have fun, because tomorrow we…
