Death is not worse pain than an empty life. -- Lun Tha

Things I learned over my long weekend:

* Blogs can function as "answering machines." Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts while I was away! :-)

* Chicago's O'Hare is navigable if you find the Express Bus and if you are wearing comfortable shoes.

* Tennessee needs to work on their Sunday business hours. Finding an open gas station was rough.

* Some puppies are way too much like toddlers.

* The window seat isn't always a bad thing.

* Canyon Man's little girl is a riot and it's never too early to teach some people German.

* My sister's husband is a great cook.

* Shoe-shopping doesn't HAVE to be a horrible ordeal.

* There are few things sadder than the death of someone who will be missed by only a handful of people...and all those people are more relieved than anything.

This last lesson was learned at the death of my grandmother. She passed away while I was waiting for a red-eye flight to head to Tennessee. I found out over breakfast the following morning.

Death is a testament to life. If you have lived a life that has contributed much to the world at large, or even much to a few close and carefully nurtured friends, your passing will be marked by sorrow, tears, and lots of fond memories and stories about your life. But if you lived a life in isolation, caring for no one but yourself, when you die, you might not be missed by anyone except those who cared for you in your last days. And even they might be more relieved that saddened at your passing.

That's painful to witness; painful to feel.

BUT!

I had a good visit with all my family and that was a blessing. Ate well, laughed a lot, and got to visit the "niece and nephew" cats, dogs, and ferret. Oh, and my actual niece, too.

Sometimes, it's good to take a vacation from being a wife and mom and go back to being a daughter and sister for a few days. :-)