BAD NEWS LED TO A BAD WEEK

What a week for me! 

It began by my reading on Facebook that one of my dearest first cousins had died three days before. I was devastated because no one bothered to call me. I had to learn of this on FB. 

Hurt and grieving at the same time, as soon as I saw my cousins' obituary, I clicked on the website of the funeral home. There I could leave a brief comment, but could also order flowers for her funeral which would take place the next day at 11:00 AM. 

My sweet cousin and I had not grown up together, but when she retired from her job of 30 years in Miami, Florida, she moved to my hometown and we spent many happy times together. 

Twenty-five years ago, I left my home in Georgia and moved to the mountains of North Carolina. When I visited south Georgia, my cousin, Ginger, always had a room ready for me. She made sure the linens were not washed or dried with scented products and never had anything in her house that upset my chemical sensitivity or made me sick. When I moved away, we spent hours talking on the phone and for years she followed this blog always telling me how much she enjoyed my posts arriving in her Inbox. 

A couple of years ago, as her health began to fail, her son moved her into a very nice Assisted Living facility. She hated to give up her home and felt bad that she had no room for me to stay with her now.

I went down for my brother's birthday a couple of years ago, picked up my cousin and took her to the afternoon party. She had a ball! With her great wit and sense of humor, she kept us laughing. 

My brother, Max, and Ginger. He called her two or three times each week after the Pandemic began. No one could go to see her and she couldn't go out. 

My sister, Gay, and I broke the rules of the Assisted Living facility by keeping Ginger out too late. After the gathering, we all went to dinner. I had asked her if she wanted to go back or stay with us. She wanted to go to dinner.   

When we arrived at the AL around ten o'clock, we were met by staff who had been so upset they had called Ginger's son who was traveling and far away. We had no idea there was a curfew, and we had her home before bedtime. It was all worth it because she had a delightful day with family. That was the most time we had spent together since she moved out of her house. I will always remember that day.

Monday, the day of Ginger's funeral service, I awoke mourning her passing and feeling hurt that no one had bothered to call me. My brother phoned later and said he had gone to the the funeral. I learned from him that the flower arrangement I had ordered was not there. I became concerned about the payment I made, which was sizeable, for the flowers. I began calling and emailing in hopes of finding the right person who would refund my money. 

Finally, Tuesday afternoon, the florist called me. She had received the order on Tuesday, after the funeral service. She apologized and made me feel better when she promised to get my money refunded. Within an hour or two, I received an email showing the refund to my credit card. 

I would have been feeling much better by then, but my neighbor called to tell me someone had intentionally knocked down my mailbox.

She brought my mail which she found in the box on the ground. I didn't know what I was going to do. I could not put the box up. I called some people I thought might help me. One of them was on vacation in Florida, but another man, John, who has come to my rescue more than once since Barry died, promised he would be over the next day. Now I have a new mailbox, but the old one had been in the family for over fifty years. I will keep it because it has the name Barry Beall across the top in metal lettering. It is a reminder of so many good years we had on the farm in Georgia. If you have any ideas of how I might use a large rural mailbox that is retired from service, please let me know.

Today was a better day. Lexie and I took a walk and treated ourselves to a hot fudge sundae. I look forward to a nice day tomorrow. Maybe we will take a long drive and see the fall colors as they begin to brighten up the forests, the yards and farmland around western North Carolina. Hope you have a great day, too. 

Please let me hear from you. You know I miss you if you don't stop by.