Month: September 2024

I heard an obituary read on a Tik Tok video the other day.  Instead of the flowery, saccharine obituary, that you typically read…The children of the decedent, knowing their Mother so well, instead, listed the things that best described their Mom.  The simple day to day things that made this rather ordinary woman, not into a saint…but an affirmation of who she was and what she did…the daily things, the un-extraordinary things.  I began to think about what things I do, that stand out and make up the essence of Tammy:
I love Diet Mountain Dew and Dr. Dr Pepper and hide the bottles from my husband.  I have an extraordinary sweet tooth and belive Little Debbie is a goddess..I leave every single kitchen cabinet door open when I’m cooking. I make yummy pies, especially peach and coconut cream. I make cinnamon rolls and homemade noodles. I cuss like a sailor. I know the Greek alphabet and the members of most 1970’s classic rock groups.  I adore The Beatles, U2, 90’s grunge bands and the Foo Fighters.  I will fight you about my top 10 guitarists.  I keep a messy car, and lose things constantly.  I love my husband my stepson and my Grandchildren. I sometimes forget they are not my own flesh.  I will spend every dollar I have on my husband or grandkids.  I love my animals, and honestly they are my favorite part of day to day life. My weenie dog Marlin is my best buddy.  I mumble a lot. I laugh at my own jokes because I think I’m pretty damn funny. My job broke my heart but healed my childhood trauma.  Saving lives saved my own.  I have a grateful heart for my family,  especially my siblings and my parents.( Despite the emotional space between us, I loved and admired each one.  I lived big and loud and was too much for some, but I was my genuine self, with every flaw and flair.

We should each write our own “obituary” to discover our own essence.  What would you write?

9/4/2024

It’s been a very long time since I have written. Life has changed little. The days each differ, some happy and some sad. Our Beanie dog died after a long bout of cancer a year ago last March. Gertie is now 10 and Marlin and Atlas both recently celebrated their 15th birthdays. Tomorrow I celebrate my 62nd birthday. We are a house of senior citizens, living in our trailer.

Fun is a comfy sit in our recliner, the Hubs and I. A shared evening off of work and a snuggle with one of our fuzzy senior citizens. All the aches and pains are sweetened with lovely memories and a bittersweet homesickness for a place in time, surrounded by the family and friends who are no longer physically present.

Marlin and Atlas are going through difficult health issues that occasionally make us pause to think about the inevitable time when they will leave us too. Marlin has one eye that has gone hazy with cataracts and the other has gone blind from an infection. Atlas has shrunken and grown thin from illness and age. He is still vocal and affectionate and when he gets cold he will permit me to hold him.

Being old isn’t for the weak. It’s heartbreaking at times, comical at times, but it is life. We still love, we still make new make new memories, we live.