Tour de Funeral Home

Thought you might like to see a little bit of the funeral home. Holwell graciously agreed to give us a tour of the funeral home and tell us a little bit about the tools he uses.

Beginning of the End

Today was the last day of the semester before my last semester of college. Obviously, I am feeling very excited and anxious to be so close to graduating. If you don't know, I graduated high school in 2006 and after going to college for 2 years, took 2 years off after I got married. During those 2 years off I went to cosmetology school, worked and did my best to support my husband as he got his degree in mortuary science.

When we moved back to Columbia in August of last year, I knew it was time to get back to the grindstone and finish my own degree. On December 15, 2012 I will graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a Major in Marketing. I am so thrilled. This has been a long time coming for me and I'm ready to grow up and start being and adult now!

There is a downside to the last day of the semester before my last semester of college though. For a lot of my friends at school, it was the last day of their last semester. That means when they graduate in a week and half, there is a very good chance that I will not see most of them again. Of course, we'll stay Facebook friends and years from now we'll be sharing pictures of our children and grandchildren...but we will always look back on these times with fondness and remember how much fun we had.

A lot of those memories will involve recalling the stress of finals, the marketing plan that ended in what we thought was an epic failure, or maybe the time we plotted against our advisors. But with the bad, there is also the good. Being forced to join the dark side and creating a Twitter account by a specific unnamed professor, and eventually becoming addicted to posting about mundane daily occurrences. We will look back on sitting in the back of the classroom talking bad about our other classmates (yea yea, we're cruel). But the thing I will remember most is making new friendships that I hope will last a lifetime.

You can call me sappy, but this last year has been a lot of fun. And though it has been intensely stressful, I'll miss those that I've come to know and cherish.

...don't even think about unfriending me beotches.

As part of a school assignment, I had to do a podcast. In order to do that on Blogger, I had to attach an image(s). So since my podcast had to relate my blog, I asked Holwell to allow me to interview him about the funeral business. So I've put together a small slideshow containing images of my sexy husband with the interview. Check it out: 

I hope you learned something new about the funeral business. And enjoyed the slideshow :) Thanks Holwell for taking time out of your oh so busy day waiting for someone to die, to give us some insight into his career. 

Spring Break 2012

My spring break did not consist of sandy beaches or ocean breezes, but it was a lot of fun because I got to spend it with some awesome people. I've made it clear in previous posts that there are some people in my life that I hold in very high regard. The first of those is obviously my Husband, Holwell. He is numero uno in my life, second only to my Father God. Next are my precious siblings. They give me so much joy. It was awesome getting to hang out with all of them this week. Now that we are getting older, the conversations and problems we share become more mature and less childlike...but I always remember the old days.

Don't ask me to explain what's happening in this picture. I can tell you that we had a ton of fun. And we still do. We went to the movies, ate delicious korean cuisine, got coffee and ice cream. Last week was one of my favorite this year and I can't wait to do more!

Missouri Waits for No Season

It's getting to be that time again. Warm weather, spring showers and sunshine. And lucky for us, Missouri decided to get started early. I love spring and I love spring cleaning. Hopefully my professors won't fill my spring break with excess homework (wink wink Wayman) and I'll have a little extra time on my hands to clean out my closets and cabinets. There's nothing like having a sparkling clean house. Maybe I'll even get the hubby to power wash the outside! I can only pray. 

Cleaning isn't the only thing I love about spring. The fresh air that comes with the season just makes everything better. I can open up the windows and relax in the breeze. And fresh air always renews my love for being outside, as I'm sure it does for most of us. My sister Jordan and I have already started planning our softball dates. Can't wait to break out the gloves. 

Of course, with the fresh air, and the outdoors calling my name...so are the tanks and shorts. Ugh. Yep, once again it's time to shed the long sleeves and sweaters that cover the curves and don the cooler attire of spring and summer. And just like last year and the year before, I make a renewed commitment to work out, eat better and shed the winter pounds that have congregated around my mid section and thighs. 

So open the windows, let's clean out the cobwebs, and get to work. This time will be different. I know I say it every year, but it will! Now who's with me? Ok, ok, don't all speak up at once. But seriously, need to get on it. Guess I should start working out again. Bleh 

The Importance of Relationships

Well as of this week, I am no closer to my blog's purpose than I was last week. However, I would like to share a little bit of what my job entails and why I enjoy it. As you know, I am a wedding coordinator. Being in the wedding biz is a lot like being in any other business: you are constantly looking for connections, referrals and new customers.

Well, today I got the opportunity to go to the Columbia Business Showcase. It was so exciting to see so many businesses showcasing their services and products. As I walked around the exhibits I start to notice that some booths are crowded with people, while others received no attention. So I began to observe and find out why. I saw a few booths that looked exciting and had several people looking at the information they had set out. A few other booths had food and drink and of course had attracted attention that way. At this point, I thought that maybe the TV screens, iPads and food were the attention attracters. Then I came across some booths that were very plain, but were still attracting attention. What was different?

Then I saw two booths right next to eachother, neither seeing any visitors. One had a drawing and big TV screens. Lots of color and looked really exciting. The other booth had one simple banner. They both had something in common though, neither of the workers at the booth looked happy or like they wanted to interact with anyone. Aha! Relationships! We talk about it all the time, business is about making relationships. All of the booths that were getting the attention had people that were interacting with visitors, asking them how their day was and if they were enjoying the show. They asked questions, got involved and built a relationship with the person they were talking to.

That is the most important thing in business, any business. And making connections, or relationships rather, is what I love to do. It makes me very happy that something I am good at and enjoy doing can help my career and business grow.

Maybe I have found a purpose after all.

What's My Purpose?

Over the past couple of weeks and several blog posts, I've tried to find a purpose for my blog. Obviously, as the title indicates, it is supposed to be a diary of sorts about my life and my family. However, to be honest, my life is too busy to be interesting. I had hoped to find something about my own experience that others could relate to or benefit from, but there is nothing consistent enough to write about day in and day out. So I thought I'd mention it to my co-workers. I gave them the chance to come up with a subject for my blog and their answers were pretty funny. One suggested I could write about the crazy people that I talk about all the time that put up a fuss when it comes time to pay the bill, or who "had insurance" but money was tight one month and they missed the payment. (Those people are frustrating, but that gets old quick). Another suggested I talk about society's perception of mortician's and their lifestyle as portrayed in movies, compared to the real deal. Ironically, there are a lot of similarities between "movie morticians" and the real thing. They tend to have a very odd senses of humor, wear a lot of black, drive nice black cars, and have a good poker face. NEXT! Suggestion three: inform people on facts about mortuary science and its history. NOT! Suggestion four: tell funeral home jokes and one liners like: what song would a mortician sing if they had to give CPR? "Another one bites the dust". YIKES! OK, I'm no closer to finding a purpose for my blog, but I did get a good laugh from hearing what my co-workers think of being a mortician's wife. Maybe next week I'll interview my children's church class :)

Ketchup: Good in Sandwiches, Not Life

While taking a look at my schedule for the week this past Sunday I was presently surprised that I only had plans (besides my regular work/school schedule) on Monday evening. I had an appointment to finalize a contract with a bride, but other than that, I was good for the week. I knew it was too good to be true...

By Sunday evening I had another appointment to give another couple a tour on Tuesday late afternoon. Ok, I can do Monday and Tuesday. Still plenty of time for activities. Well, Tuesday rolls around and I am sick all morning. WONDERFUL! So while working from home, my little brother calls me all in a huff needing to talk. And of course it's not a conversation to be had on the phone, so we made plans for dinner that evening after my tour and then meeting with the new intern. Now of course dinner with Stone is an enjoyable activity, so I was not upset about that. However, I did not get home til late and did not have time to do my homework. So Monday morning, exhausted and running late, I ran to my 9am class, reaching the door at 9:01. As I entered the hallway, 2 things immediately caught my attention: 1) a guy from the same class is chillin' on the bench in front of the door, and 2) there is a note on the door. Now typically a note on the door means a cancelled class...which would have been wonderful. I could never be so lucky. To my extreme irritation the note states: "Please take a seat on the bench and you will be admitted into class at the next convenient moment." With my jaw resting on the floor, the guy previously mentioned says, "I didn't even think it was 9 yet. This is b***s***!" My sentiments exactly. Not feeling in the mood to wait until the profs "next convenient moment", I grumpily made my way to the commons to try and get some work done while I waited the 2 hours until my next class. Before the end of the day, I also added another commitment to my week for Friday evening; unfortunately not one I will get paid for.  

It's amazing to me how much can happen in just the span of 24 hours. Or 48 hours. And within 72 hours my whole week had changed. I was hoping this evening would be an opportunity for relaxation on my hump/leap day, but then I remembered all the homework that has yet to been done. Have you ever felt like you just couldn't catch up? 

Not Just The Mortician's Wife

I wear many hats, the wife to a mortician is only of them. Oh, you didn't know that not all I thought, wrote, talked about and experienced was a life surrounded by death? Well check this out: I'm also a full time student, wedding coordinator, accountant's assistant, regular wife, housekeeper, cook (this one's a slight exaggeration), oldest sibling of 11, daughter and friend.  And this week I am for sure feeling the pressure of balancing them all. Don't get me wrong. For the most part, I love all of my fabulous hats, and the perks that I get from them. Take for instance, my sibling hat. It is one of my most favorite! Just this week my baby (yes, she's a 20 year old baby) sister asked me to proofread her paper for one of her theater classes. It just made my day that she would come to me for advice and help. It also gave me the opportunity to be grateful for my student hat. That one can sometime's be a difficult one to love, but without it, I would not be able to be there for my sister in such a capacity. 

Another hat that recently has been a bit weightier than usual is the daughter hat. Ok, let's pause for a second. I'm tired of using hats as a metaphor for the roles I play in life. And we're back. I've always been extremely family oriented and emotional. Subsequently, it's always been a little difficult for me to deal with changes in the family dynamic. Now that I am married, it's been a little easier having someone to be there for me. However, dealing with broken relationships and whole family units moving 2 hours away has really hit me hard this week. And when one role is weighing so heavily on you, especially one so high on the priority list, it really puts everything else out of balance. I do not function well unbalanced. So in order to combat the imbalance, I am focusing more of my energy on my other responsibilities. So when my sister asked me for help on that paper today, I'll admit, my heart did a little happy dance :). 

LOVE these kids! (2006- Stone and Jordan)

Me and my sis at her high school graduation (2010)

I don't know what I'd do without these two very special people in my life. And of course my hubby. They make all the rough days a little sunshinier :)

Seriously?

Since I've started playing the role of mortician's wife, I've asked this question a lot. Seriously? I said it in my previous post, I love that people know the May name. Just this evening the receptionist at H&R Block told Holwell that he looked like his grandpa. I could tell by the way he lit up that it just made his day. HOWEVER, I do not love when strange people come knocking on my door at 6:45 AM! Seriously?! And this is not the first time that someone has come to our HOME to do business with the funeral home. That's why we have phones people. 

Also, we were just about to watch our weekly episode of Jersey Shore when the funeral home phone rang. It's set up to be forwarded to our house and Holwell's grandma's house so that it always gets answered. Of course someone had died and Holwell had to go pick up the body in Columbia. This time it was his turn to say, "Seriously?! Why do people have to die?". Obviously, that second part was jokingly, as without dead people, we'd kinda go out of business. Holwell loves his Jersday though, and was not happy that he had to put it off. 

Oh the joys. I have a feeling I'll be asking this question a lot through the years and look forward to the crazy situations that inspire it!

Ready, Set, GO!

First blog post! Yay! In my first few words, I remember my boss telling me "You use too many exclamation points. It makes whatever you're writing sound desperate and poorly written". And of course, my response was, "but I'm excited!” And I typically am. I tend to be happy, excitable, and easily amused. Like right now, I am excited to be writing my first blog post! (If you could not tell). I am also pretty goofy. There is never a dull moment when you get me and my husband, Holwell together. He's a goofy one too. We play off of each other and have lots of fun. We are fairly normal though. We both work full time, have a house that's a pain to keep clean, and enjoy a relaxing TV session with our favorite DVR'd shows. Oh, I almost forgot...My husband is a funeral director and mortician.

His family has owned funeral homes in the mid-Missouri area for over 100 years. It is their way of life. Holwell started handing out programs at funerals when he was around 7 and saw his first embalming at the ripe old age of 12. I still remember the day I met Holwell and my response to him telling my about his family's business: "EWWW"! I know, so mature. I believe I also said something along the lines of, "I'd never date a guy that touched dead bodies for a living, not that you're asking me to be your girlfriend". (AWKWARD). 

And here we are! 4 1/2 years later, I am the wife of a mortician...and I could not be happier. There are things I hate about the funeral business though. I hate when Holwell calls and says, "I just picked up the body of a 15 month old". And I cried for the family that had lost their baby girl. But that is rare. I hate when the phone rings at 4 am Holwell has to leave me to go pick up a body. I hate when things get tight because we haven't had a funeral for several weeks (and the guilt that comes with wishing for one). BUT, there are things that I love about this business! I love that everyone in town knows the May name. I love that my husband works across the street from our house. I love that I get to see Holwell in a suit on a regular basis (sexy, hehe). And most of all, I love that there's a pretty good chance that we will never go out of business.

Being in the funeral business is weird, sad, humorous, and gets me the craziest questions, but I wouldn't change it for a thing.