Wednesday, February 29, 2012

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? 

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

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 :)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

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!

Monday, February 6, 2012

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.