Maggie/Rachael/Carolyn - (obituaries)

If you check the blog really early - you might have missed the add-on yesterday. Chuck sent the inspiration for his envelope. A fun style you might want to put on your to-do list.

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The last of the mystery mail - 3 flowery/leafy envelopes. My guesses from top to bottom are Maggie, Rachael, and CarolynC. I could go on and on about how pretty flowers are - but you probably don't need me to point that out.

That sprig behind the stamp on Maggie's is steal worthy. Rachael is drawn to circle designs - wreath-y. And Carolyn's remind me of those Andy Warhol flowers.

 

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Hopefully I am maintaining some variety in my add-ons. I don't want to overload us with stoic messages or death pondering. Part of turning 70 is reading obituaries every morning and seeing my generation leading the domino dance.

Today's add-on combines stoicism and death pondering. Hopefully it will be inspirational and not depressing. It is from the Daily Stoic. You may go to the website for the full article or read my Cliff's Notes version:

First there were examples of people who had near death experiences that triggered creative inspiration for those people.

Then the Daily Stoic author quotes one of my favorite author/artists, Austin Kleon:

Obituaries are like near-death experiences for cowards. Reading them is a way for me to think about death while also keeping it at arm’s length. Obituaries aren’t really about death; they’re about life...Reading about people who are dead now and did things with their lives makes me want to get up and do something decent with mine. Thinking about death every morning makes me want to live.

I actually chuckled at the thought that Austin is *inspired* by what what he reads in the daily obituaries. Obituaries tend to be sugar coated - and with good reason. It's not the right time to list all the things that annoyed the dearly departed loved ones. But, that sugar coating usually makes them pretty generic. Besides the lists of pastimes that people enjoy - there are endless ways to state that the most important thing in their life was family and friends and gatherings. For men, they often *never met a stranger* and for women - they were good cooks. Or -- the ever popular - attended every single sporting event of the kids and grandkids. Not this mama/nanna.

When my boys were playing hockey, I did not make it to all the games. A couple mothers pulled me aside and said that their sons had asked, "Does Hunter even HAVE a mother?" --as if I was a bad mother for not showing up. Then, one year at the end-of-season banquet - they put my picture on a milk carton - the way they used to put missing children on milk cartons. My only regret is that I did not get one of the milk cartons. I would have treasured it. Obviously, I was not at the banquet.

There's more to this story. I'll save it for later. 

This drawing appeared in a recent obituary. The man was an architect.
Don't you love the little figure over his shoulder? I wish I had a less grainy image.

This is my current favorite for my obituary.