In Memoriam?

I don't think the word "intercourse" should be mentioned in a Church, and definitely not during a memorial service.

The priest conducting the memorial service Super Ninja and I attended on Saturday described life as a gift from God during his homily, and that's where he dropped the "i" word. After that, he referred to it as the "creative process." I know some writers and artists, and I'm pretty sure when they are discussing their creative processes, they are NOT referring to intercourse.

Yikes. What if I'm wrong about that?

The priest then clarified that it is natural to grieve when someone dies. Thanks for that. I thought I was wacky for feeling a little put out that my aunt and uncle had both passed away from various ailments within the past six months.

"You won't be able to pick up the phone and call them," he said while staring at my cousin, the only child of the folks who passed away. "The next time you're in Baltimore and want to see them, you won't be able to. When you want to hug them, you won't be able to."

Gee, thanks again, Priest. I don't think my cousin knew what death is all about, but now that you've spelled it out for him, I think he can really accept it.

Yeesh.

Yeah, so anyway, then Priest #2 took the podium and shared one of his own personal experiences with death. When his mother passed away, some years after his father, one of the priest's brothers exclaimed, "My God, we're orphans now!" Then, the priest informed my cousin that he too is an orphan. Yeah, I'm pretty sure my cousin had considered that fact.

So, the whole service was, "You are alone! You're parents are dead, dead, dead! Orphan! Oh, but it's okay because you'll see them again someday. When YOU die."

Who's feeling uplifted?

All that aside, I really enjoyed seeing my Mom's side of the family at the service. We don't get together that often, so it was nice to talk to them them. I think I actually look more like my mother's side of the family than my Dad's, so it's weird when I see my eye shape looking back at me. Divorce is also a little more prevalent on my Mom's side, so I saw a few ex-family members (out-laws?) who came to pay their respects.

I don't know. I think I need to ruminate on this more. It was just kind of...odd.