A Most Embarrasing Moment

I have a weird habit of reading the obituaries.  I figure if I read them every day I won't miss an important passing of someone I know.  My mom's friend Maxine passed away on Monday.  So, I was paying particular attention to the obits over the last few days and was surprised to see a familiar name this morning.   I scanned the obit for the names of family members to confirm he was who I thought he was and then decided to go to the visitation tonight to give my condolances.  The deceased was the father in law of a friend of mine that I haven't seen in a while but worked daily with for almost 10 years.    Don got home and I changed into my dress clothes, hopped in the car and went to the funeral home.  Have you figured out how the story ends yet?  I poked my head into the room where the family and friends were gathered and looked for my friend Lisa who was nowhere to be found.  I thought well maybe she's stepped out for a breath of fresh air or something so I walked over to the tv and watched the video montage of this man's great life.  There were photos of him in his travels, with his dear wife of many many years, of him with his children and grandchildren... and the more I looked at the pictures the more I started to question whether I was in the right place.   I took a closer look at some family photos that were displayed on a collage board.... not a single picture of Lisa and her kids anywhere.  Yep, wrong guy.  Turns out Lisa's father in law is alive and well and I went to pay my respects to a man I never even knew.  In an odd way I'm glad I went... Mom decided not to go to Maxine's visitation because it was in another town plus she was feeling extra emotional because tomorrow is the 3rd anniversary of Gramps' death.   So in a way I felt like I was paying my respects to both Maxine and Gramps as well as the dear-departed- not Lisa's father-in-law- Mr. Anderson.     Some of the family members saw me and some of them must have wondered who this oddly silent visitor was but maybe they will just smile thinking he had touched my life in some way even though I didn't speak to them.  The two rooms were full of people so I have the feeling he must have touched a lot of lives.  

Rest in Peace Jerry Anderson.  May God hold your family in the palm of His hand.

And by the way, my husband has yet to stop laughing at me.