I wasn't lying

So, the final body count for the month of December: 86

Do you realize how many that is?  I suppose it really isn't that bad if you work at a funeral home that does 2,000 cases a year, but I don't work at a place like that.  we do about 700-800 a year, so that's 20 more bodies than our average on a high year.  Insane.  See, I told you I was busy.

Also, my manager told me yesterday that he had something that he wanted to bring me that I would love.  I laughed and asked what it was and all he would tell me was that it had to do with boobs.  ANyway, he gave me it today, a rubber bracelet that reads, "I *heart* boobies!" Needless to say, I have it on, as it matches my outfit and I do indeed heart boobies.

I'm sorry!!!

Okay, now that I've apologized for the complete negligence of this blog I will update you:

We've been busy.  I've started to write about the decapitation case and haven't had enough time to really get it all down, and it's interesting enough of a topic for me to really want to explain thoroughly.  I promise though, it will get here eventually.

Christmas got in the way.  I spent the holiday with my family, eating way too much (don't worry though, I'm still hot) and not drinking so heavily that my mother had to explain the happenings of the days to me.  It was great.  I got some good loot, as did Clem, and thankfully she didn't complain that mommy and daddy didn't get her anything (we gave her a choice: either we buy gifts for her, or we use that money to buy gifts for two kids that don't have a lot of money this Christmas, and she really wanted to pick out gifts for the other kids, so we didn't get her anything), and Christmas eve and day were very relaxing.  I was on call the next few days, and there were families I came in to the office to meet with, but nothing too dificult or crazy, so even that wasn't bad.  Also, I got a super-cute yellow skirt suit from my mom that is killer, and I can't wait to get it back from the cleaners.

The Mr. and I left for Vegas on the 30th, we stayed for New Year's, and it was great.  We go at least once a year, especially now that we are parents, and a group of our friends from all over the states went as well.  Our plane arrived that afternoon, and the rest of our crew (8 in all) were there by 6pm, so we immediately went for a nice dinner, and continued drinking and gambling until the 2nd when we flew home.  We stay downtown, this time at the Golden Nugget, and the hubby got us a suite as a nice surprise.  The hotel has been redone and looks a lot like one of the hotels on the Strip, but is still a downtown place, and has some good poker tournaments as well. We won a ton, and luckily we left before we had a chance to loose it all.  It really was great.  You should have seen the bed in our room, btw, it was like sleeping on a cloud.

So, that's what I was doing... I've missed you guys!

Hate: a four-letter word?

I was listening to music with Clem (she's three) and she told me "I don't sing when it's the part with the bad word."  I couldn't think of what bad word the song we were listening to had, so I asked her what word it was that she thought was bad (thinking that maybe she was getting the lyrics wrong, or that I was) and she hesitated, probably thinking that she wasn't sure if it was really okay to say it, and finally said, "hate."  Now, I am sure that my sister (not my favorite one, the other one) told her that hate is a bad word, she's the one that watches Clem while I'm at work, and I'm okay with that, I don't really want my kid running around saying that she hates things, but at the same time, I don't want her thinking hate is a bad word just like fuck or bitch or something.  So, I explained to her that hate isn't a bad word, but that it can be hurtful to people (she said, "mom, if it's hurtful then that's bad," making me explain that, too), and we have to understand that it is rarely necessary to use the word.  I also explained that a lot of times it is used when people don't really mean it, and that they don't even realize they're saying it (which she told me is something I do all the time (kid notices everything apparently).

I'm fairly confident that I did the right thing.  It isn't a bad word, right?

It's like being in an episode of The Twilight Zone

So, this week has been unending.  We had six services today, and new families to meet with.  It was insane.  We had five services yesterday.  I have just about gone mad.

Anyway, there's a visitation tonight, it starts in just a few minutes, and the family was a little late in approving the info we have on the deceased, so Buffy is just finishing up on printing the programs and register book.  He's been super busy all day anyway though, so it's not like it would have been completed a long time ago had the family approved our paperwork sooner.  Anyway, Big Bird (funeral office Nazi) just took a call that apparently was a family member of the visitation-tonight-guy, letting us know that we had an incorrect middle initial for him.  So, she tells Buffy and he just says, "great, now I have to reprint the book and everything." He sounded really sad when he said it, you could hear the I-thought-today-was-over-and-now-I-have-to-stay-late disappointment in his voice, and Big Bird did something I never thought I'd see.  She leaned in to him (he was sitting with his back to her, she was standing behind him) and lightly rubbed his back with the back of her index finger.  It was so loving and mother-like I just about died.  Buffy even looked over at me with this "wtf" expression, and we just kinda stared at each other.  It was the weirdest thing.  So, anyway, that's all I've got for today.

Join me next week for a recap of the decapitation case...

For Miss Anne

I might end up taking this photo down, as I don't want anyone to recognize me, but I look cute today, and Miss Anne wanted a photo a while back...

The comfort of tradition

I'm at a service. It's a Rosary followed by a Mass, followed by the cremation of the deceased's remains. Usually when we're as busy as we are right now I don't like working services, as I am constantly thinking about what I could be doing at the office, not thinking about being a great funeral director, but today I am glad to be here. It could be partly because I don't have to go to the cemetery after we finish, which is always cold at this hour and this time of year, but mostly it's because I just need a break, and it turns out this Rosary the priest is saying is soothing me. I love the sound of his voice, and the response the crowd gives. The words sound beautiful and melodic, and I just want to hear them over and over, the rest of the day, and let them wash my tiredness and stress away in a river of peacefull lyrics. I can think here. I can relax. I can breathe.

I don't suppose I will ever know why it is that the words of the Rosary are so wonderful to me. I'm not Catholic, although my mom often tells me that I should have been born her (raised Catholic) and she been born me (raised Presbyterian). There's just something about it having always been done this way, the tradition of the prayers, and the holiness of it all. I'm just glad to be here, at this little church, hearing these words.

I don't remember ever being this busy

OMFG.

Number of cases we have in house: 21

Number of cases I want to be working on: 0

I am so busy I can hardly see straight.  Monica was on call this weekend, and she called to let me know we were swamped over the weekend.  We got an auto accident case who is actually Monica's uncle (in-law), and he should be arriving any minute for me to check him out and see how extensive the damage is on his head.  I'm hoping that he's not too bad mostly because of how little time I have to work on him, and also because I don't want Monica to see him like that, even if she is a tough girl.

I also have a case that is going to be shipped in from Oregon.  I love seeing death certificates from other states, so that should be fun.

Anyway, I am really sorry for the lack of posting.