Obituaries
Maybe I'm a morbid person in general, I dunno. But ever since I became a mom, I've been even more fascinated/afraid of death. Not to sick levels, mind you, but I just freak out more when I see that children have died or that a mother has died leaving young children behind. I bring this us not to send you scrambling for your Prozac, but to tell you that I have this ritual every morning of glancing at the photos in the obits. Some are cherubic children. Their faces make my heart ache. Some are older folks who use their high school or military photos because at 103, their faces might belong in the horror column (I can say this without retribution because mine will be there.) Some look like they were pics snapped at a party where everyone, photographer included, were nine sheets to the wind. These are usually blurry and the deceased is usually belly laughing/dancing, amorously hugging a keg. But in all of the photos, they're smiling. Sure that's how we want to remember the people we love, but it always strikes me as a bit surreal. Like they're so happy to be dead. Maybe some of them are. But I think we should all take photos that say "I'm dead and I'm not happy about it." We need to strike a solemn pose and have a morose expression on our faces. Perhaps we can have a fist full of lilies or a R.I.P. tattoo across our foreheads. I dunno. It just seems more appropriate, ya know?