Roasted marshmallows

I was due to take a three day business trip last Wednesday, so I had queued up a few posts to cover my absence in case I couldn’t find time in the hotel room to dig through the news and find interesting stuff to post. So, I probably seemed kind of callous, posting things on my blog instead of looking after my home situation, but I swear the blog’s autopilot status had completely slipped my mind.

Jodi called me at 10:30pm to inform me that her mother Theda had had a heart attack and was at the hospital, in an induced coma, after having been given drugs to remove the blockage that had worked her way into her heart. My boss had offered me a rental to go home immediately, but there was no way I could make the five hour car trip at that point, given how long my day already had been, so I asked instead to go back to the hotel to sleep in case I needed to do so in the morning. Jodi called again at 4 am to inform me that her mother hadn’t survived the night. Three sleepless hours later, I called around and got permission to take the company van, set out immediately, and was home at 1pm. Since then, I’ve been in a whirlwind of activity, with Jodi and her sister scrambling to get affairs in order and make sure everyone was in the know.

The interment is tomorrow, along with a life celebration. Theda always said that she wanted to be put in a pine box, thrown on a bonfire, and to have marshmallows roasted over her. Jodi and her sister secured a pine box urn, where Theda will be cremated and stored in the box until she can be interred with her father. The girls will dress the site with marshmallows, though they won’t be roasted. It’s about the closest to her wishes they can manage, legally. And sanitation-wise. The girls both agree her wishes were pretty gross.

And that’s about the best I can do, myself.

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Roasted marshmallows
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4 thoughts on “Roasted marshmallows

  1. 1

    My condolences to Jody and yourself. I understand what you’re going through, Jason, since something similar happened to me a couple of weeks ago.

    I received a phone call from my Dad during dinner on May 27th, informing me that my grandfather wasn’t doing very well. He wouldn’t wake up for more than a few seconds at a time, and his body temperature had skyrocketed. The doctors were treating it like an infection, but there was worry that his body was just shutting down after. The drive was four hours away, and I decided I’d head out first thing the next morning. I was forty minutes away when my grandfather passed away.

    Take care of yourselves.

  2. 2

    Jason,
    All my best to you and Jodi. I can’t even imagine what Jodi is going through.
    Judging by her last wishes, she must have been an interesting character.

  3. 3

    Judging by her last wishes, she must have been an interesting character.

    Agreed. I’m curious though, Shirley you could roast marshmallows in the manner she requested. I’d just recommend that nobody actually consume them, is all.

    The last time I saw my grandfather, he asked me to bring a bottle of whiskey, so before I went to see him for the last time, despite the fact that he’d already passed away, I dropped by a liquor store and picked up a bottle of Tullamore Dew. We had one last drink together. Actually, he had one drink, while I had four, thanks to absent family members requesting me to have a drink for them.

    I hope that you’re able to help comfort Jodi through this difficult time, Jason.

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